Merlyn Paine, the daughter of Stuart Paine, has been working on this presentation of her father's diaries for several years now, so it is a pleasure to finally see the results. Rai Goerler's 10-page Foreword—Stuart Paine, Admiral Richard Byrd and the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition—is excellent. The three-page Preface tells a bit about the Paine family, how Paine ended up going to the Antarctic and gives a description of the three-volume diaries that are the basis of this book. (Advice to diarists: keep your diaries out of damp garages!) Also, a few words about the Barrier Bull, which I didn't know about until Merlyn, at a recent symposium at Ohio State, talked about this expeditionary newspaper that her father initiated. Merlyn's three-page Introduction is a summary description of the Second Byrd Expedition. Coming next from page 7 to page 276 is Paine's three-volume transcribed diary interspersed with numerous black and white photographs, facsimiles, maps, etc. The photographs are not reproduced very well (dark and not particularly crisp), but this seems to be the rule today in book production and not the exception. Nonetheless, many of them appear for the first time, so they are valuable on that score alone.
One of the first illustrations I focused on was the opening page of the diary. As I read the transcription on the preceding page, I thought it odd that 'Station Island' appeared on one line and 'Staten Island' on the next. Looking at the actual page, it's clearly written as 'Staten' in both instances. Let's hope this this was a fluke and not representative of the transcription. (I will have to say that I've yet to read the diary portion of the book, only paged through it. It goes on the 'to read pile' right now.)
Merlyn's five-page Afterword deftly summarizes Paine's achievements in the Antarctic and goes on to tell of his later years and early death at age 50.
For me, the most interesting section of the book is Appendix 4 which is made up of representative selections from each of the eight issues of the Barrier Bull which Paine started up as "the only internal magazine compiled within Little America during the expedition." (Researchers should take note that there is a complete run in the Special Collections at the University of New Hampshire Library.) These selections make up 36 pages of the book and as far as I know constitute the closest thing to a full reprinting that's appeared so far.
Merlyn deserves credit for toiling so thoroughly and lovingly to bring her father's story to print.
—R. Stephenson
(3 June 2007)

Stuart Paine was a dog driver, radio operator, and navigator on the fifty-six-man expedition, the bold and complex venture that is now famous for Byrd's dramatic rescue from Bolling Advance Weather Base located 115 miles inland. Paine's diaries represent the only published contemporary account written by a member of the Second Expedition. They reveal a behind-the-scenes look at the contentiousness surrounding the planned winter rescue of Byrd and offer unprecedented insights into the expedition's internal dynamics.

Equally riveting is Paine's breathtaking narrative of the fall and summer field operations as the field parties depended on their own resources in the face of interminable uncertainty and peril. Undertaking the longest and most hazardous sledging journey of the expedition, Paine guided the first American party from the edge of the Ross Sea more than seven hundred miles up the Ross Ice Shelf and the massive Thorne (Scott) Glacier to approach the South Pole. He and two other men skied more than fourteen hundred miles in eighty-eight days to explore and map part of Antarctica for the first time.

Footsteps on the Ice reveals the daily struggles, extreme personalities, and the matter-of-fact bravery of early explorers who are now fading into history. Detailing the men's frustrations, annoyances, and questioning of their leader, Paine's entries provide rare insight into how Byrd conducted his expeditions. Paine exposes the stresses of living under the snow in Little America during the four-month-long winter night, trapped in dim, crowded huts and black tunnels, while the men uneasily mulled over their leader's isolation at Advance Base. The fates of Paine's dogs, which provided some of his most difficult and rewarding experiences, are also described his relationship with Jack, his lead dog, is an entrancing story in itself.

Featuring previously unpublished photographs and illustrations, Footsteps on the Ice documents the period in Antarctic exploration that bridged the "heroic era" and the modern age of mechanized travel. Depicting almost incomprehensible mental and physical duress and unhesitating courage, Paine's tale is one of the most compelling stories in polar history, surpassing other accounts with its immediacy and adventure as it captures the majesty and mystery of the untouched Antarctic.

M.L. Paine, the daughter of Stuart Paine, is an independent researcher who resides in Nevada and Alaska."

—From the dustjacket.

CONTENTS:

Illustrations
Maps
Foreword by Raimund E. Goerler
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction by M.L. Paine
DIARY ONE

1. Chinook Kennels: September 27-November 2, 1933
2. At Sea: November 3-December 9, 1933
3. The Roaring Forties and South: December 13, 1933-January 16, 1934
4. Misery Trail: January 24-February 28, 1934
5. Journey of "Seven Hells": March 1-31, 1934
6. Little America: April 1-22, 1934
7. The Old Mess Hall: April 25-June 10, 1934

DIARY TWO

8. The Deep Winter Night: June 15-July 17, 1934
9. The Admiral and Summer Field Preparations: July 20-October 15, 1934

DIARY THREE

10. The Start of the Southern Journey: October 16-November 20, 1934
11. In Select Company: November 21-December 5, 1934
12. Mount Weaver: December 6, 1934-January 11, 1935

DIARY FOUR

13. Homeward: January 13-May 12, 1935

Afterword by M.L. Paine

APPENDIXES

1. The Men of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition
2. "What Is It Like to Travel at Seventy-five below Zero?" by Dr. Thomas C. Poulter
3. Fall Southern Trip Meteorological and Navigating Records
4. Barrier Bull Selections May 19, 1934, Issue 1 May 26, 1934, Issue 2 June 2, 1934, Issue 3 June 9, 1934, Issue 4 June 16, 1934, Issue 5 June 23, 1934, Issue 6 June 30, 1934, Issue 7 July 7, 1934, Issue 8
5. Logistics Planning from Mile 173 to Mile 445.5, Thorne Glacier, and Return to Little America
6. Navigation and Triangulation Reports: Summer Journey to the Queen Maud Range

Bibliography
Index

Illustrations

Stuart D. Paine, 1933
Paine's Antarctic Diaries
The First Page of the Diaries: September 27, 1933
Letter Inviting Paine to Join the Expedition
Olin Stancliff and Ed Moody by the Jacob Ruppert
The Dog Drivers at Boston Harbor
Finn Ronne and Members of the Dog Department
Alton Wade and Other Drivers
Dick Russell
Alan Innes-Taylor
Dogs on the Jacob Ruppert
The Neptune Ceremony for the Dog Drivers
Haircuts aboard the Jacob Ruppert
Exploring Easter Island
The Family at Christmas
The Workboat Attending the Condor
Paine on Deck with Seals
Diary Page: Byrd Expedition Stamps
Unloading the Jacob Ruppert
Pressure Ridge Camp
A Loaded Sledge
The Team before the Pressure
Dick Black on a Pressure Ridge
Unloading the Bear of Oakland
Jack the Giant Killer, Paine's Lead Dog
Paine's Team in Dog Town
Little America and the Cow Tent
Perkins in the Hatch
The "Place of Absolute Safety"
Paine with a Frozen Seal
Jack's Team by the Seal Pile
The Fall Journey South
The Tractor Party at 50 Mile Depot
Paine, Buck, and Break-it at 50 Mile Depot
Building a Depot
Supplying a Depot
Mile 155, the Turnaround Point
Digging the Fuel Tunnel for Admiral Byrd
Admiral Byrd at Advance Base
Diary Page: The Admiral and a Base Diagram
Byrd to Poulter Memorandum Forbidding Winter Rescue
View of Little America
A Meal in the New Mess Hall
Personnel of the Winter Party, "Little America Times"
Torches and Lanterns Lighting the Dog Tunnel
Paine at the Entrance of the Dog Tunnels
Coniac and Rowdy
Charlie Murphy of CBS
Chopping Frozen Seals
Young and Bowlin in Their Bunks
"My Bunk"
Covers of the Barrier Bull
The Barrier Bull: Charles J. V. Murphy on Admiral Byrd
The Barrier Bull: Editorial by Stuart D. Paine and Richard S. Russell
The Library
Notice from Dr. Poulter to the Men on Alcohol and Exercise
Paine and Jack in the Seal Chopping House
"The Stinking Trio" in Blubberheim
Stancliff Making Pemmican
The Tractor Party's First Attempt
Digging Out the Pilgrim
The Dog Drivers Meeting
Putting Up Field Rations
Testing the Condor's Engines
Diary Page: "No Feeling of Hesitation . . ."
The Geological Party Packing
Seven Teams Getting Ready
A Rest on the Trail
Hill's Tractor in a Crevasse
The Loaded Trailer by the Crevasse
Blackburn's Sledges down a Crevasse
Mountain Base before the Queen Maud Range
Stuart Paine in a Tent
Dick Russell
Quin Blackburn
Mountains Soar 14,000 Feet High
On Supporting Party Mountain, the Last Mapped Feature
The Note in the Caim: From the First Byrd Expedition
The Note in the Cairn: From the Second Expedition
Paine Replaces the Oatmeal Can in the Cairn
Mount Weaver and the Eighteen Remaining Dogs
A Fossilized Tree Trunk
The Dogs in the Wind
The Summit of Mount Weaver, in Sight of the South Pole
Paine and Blackburn Celebrating
Quin Blackburn Triangulating
Stuart Paine and Mount Katherine Paine
Stuart D. Paine in Harkness Amphitheater
Jack the Giant Killer in Harkness Amphitheater
Dick Russell and Lichens, the Southernmost Life Ever Found
Thorne Glacier Sweeping the Base of a Mountain
Paine at the Radio
Barrier Sailing
The Condor and 75 Mile Depot
The Geological Party after Skiing 1,410 Statute Miles
Loading the Bear of Oakland at the Bight
Jack's Team by the Jacob Ruppert
The Bear Wending North through the Ice
The Jacob Ruppert from the Bear
A Storm Aboard the Bear
Homeward: Touring New Zealand
Paine with Standard!
Admiral Richard E. Byrd Descending from the Bear
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Welcoming the Expedition
National Geographic Society Ceremonies at Constitution Hall
The Last Page of the Diaries: May 12, 1935
Paine and Jack at the Farm
Special Congressional Antarctic Medal (Front)
Diary pages: Fall Southern Trip Meteorological Record
Diary page: Fall Navigation Record—Example
Diary pages: Logistics Planning

Trail Parties' Reorganization at Mile 173 and Eventual
Return to Little America
Supporting Party from Mile 293 to Little America
Geological Party at Mile 175
Supplies at Mile 293
Planning from Mile 445.5 to Polar Plateau

Navigation Report of the Queen Maud Geological Party, Paine to Byrd
Thorne Glacier Triangulation Report—Example
Letter from Commander Saunders, USN, to Paine Regarding Thorne Glacier Field Observations

Maps

The Authorized Map of the Second Byrd Expedition
Map of the Ships' Movements
Map of the Bay of Whales, Inset of Antarctica
Sketch of "Misery Trail"
Diary Page: Sketch of Advance Base
Map of the Fall Journey South, Inset of Trail Markings
"Rough Plan of Little America"
Map of Thorne Glacier with Triangulation Stations
Map of 1934 Summer Field Explorations

A serious, thorough and useful treatment of Deep Freeze.

"In Deep Freeze, Dian Olson Belanger tells the story of the pioneers who built viable communities, made vital scientific discoveries, and established Antarctica as a continent dedicated to peace and the pursuit of science, decades after the first explorers planted flags in the ice.

In the tense 1950s, even as the world was locked in the Cold War, U.S. scientists, maintained by the Navy's Operation Deep Freeze, came together in Antarctica with counterparts from eleven other countries to participate in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). On July 1, 1957, they began systematic, simultaneous scientific observations of the south-polar ice and atmosphere. Their collaborative success over eighteen months inspired the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which formalized their peaceful pursuit of scientific knowledge. Still building on the achievements of the individuals and distrustful nations thrown together by the IGY from mutually wary military, scientific, and political cultures, science prospers today and peace endures.

The year 2007 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the IGY and the commencement of a new International Polar Year—a compelling moment to review what a singular enterprise accomplished in a troubled time. Belanger draws from interviews, diaries, memoirs, and official records to weave together the first thorough study of the dawn of Antarctica's scientific age. Deep Freeze offers absorbing reading for those who have ventured onto Antarctic ice and those who dream of it, as well as historians, scientists, and policy makers.

About the Author: Historian Dian Olson Belanger is the author of Enabling American Innovation (Purdue University Press, 1998) and Managing American Wildlife (University of Massachusetts Press, 1988).

"Dian Belanger has written an exciting and thought-provoking account of the U.S. Navy Seabees, flyers, and scientists who lived through and made the transition from the 'heroic' age to the 'scientific' age of Antarctic exploration. These mostly young men (no women were allowed on 'the Ice') risked lives and endured both cold and dark Antarctic winters and unimaginable isolation from the world to provide a U.S. presence on the vast, remote, ice-covered continent. Deep Freeze, based on countless interviews and painstaking research, is a timely and gripping account."
—John C. Behrendt, president of the American Polar Society and author of The Ninth Circle and Innocents on the Ice

"With its well-timed arrival on the eve of the International Polar Year 2007-2008, Deep Freeze, offers a welcome and thorough new examination of America's involvement in Antarctica during the IGY, often told through the words of the participants themselves."
—Jeff Rubin, author of Lonely Planet Antarctica

"An excellent historical chronology of the United States Antarctic Program and the first establishment of permanent scientific research facilities on the continent of Antarctica. Those who brought this program to life are heroes by every definition of the word. The truly amazing stories of pioneers are chronicled in this detailed and entertaining read. Dian Belanger's countless hours interviewing living heroes who accomplished Herculean tasks give us pause to remember where this all began."
—Jerry W. Marty, National Science Foundation Representative, South Pole Station, Antarctica

"With the fifty-year anniversary of the International Geophysical Year approaching, the author has done a remarkable job in researching the IGY through archival materials and interviews with some of the major individuals involved. Writing for a wide audience, she offers in-depth discussions of U.S. preparations for stations, their construction, scientific research, winterover experiences, and the formulation of the Antarctic Treaty, the glue that holds it all together."
—John Splettstoesser, Advisor to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators

"The story of the beginning of Operation Deep Freeze has finally been told by a dynamic writer and historian."
—RMC Billy-Ace Penguin Baker, USN (retired), Vice Chairman, Antarctic Deep Freeze Association

"Deep Freeze provides a wealth of hitherto unreported history. The use of oral history accounts, diary-based material, and quotations from literature of the era is a particular strength in this major recapturing of the heady days of 1957-59. Very little comprehensive historical scholarship has been devoted to IGY since the popular preliminary accounts that appeared (by Dufek, Sullivan, Wilson, Chapman, Eklund and Beckman, etc.) in the late 1950s and early 1960s."
—Peter-Noel Webb, geologist for U.S. and New Zealand IGY expeditions and Trans-Antarctic Expedition

"In Deep Freeze, Dian Belanger has written an important book, fine and well-researched, focusing on the IGY in Antarctica (1957-1958), which led to the Antarctic Treaty."
—J. Merton England, NSF historian (retired) and author of A Patron for Pure Science

"This is a comprehensive and lively book about the people and events that transformed Antarctica into an international laboratory for science. Through their vision, courage, and willingness to work together, the people of Deep Freeze and the IGY brought about a legacy of discovery that continues today and that helps us to understand both Antarctica and the forces of global change. To tell this fascinating and important story, Dian Belanger not only used existing historical records but also added to that documentation with extensive interviews."
—Raimund E. Goerler, Chief Archivist/Byrd Polar Research Center of The Ohio State University

"Dian Belanger's account of the historical development of the early infrastructure for the American Antarctic science operation is superb. Compellingly told, the book incorporates significant research from new sources and unused collections. A must read for anyone with an interest in Antarctica and the early science it provided."
—George T. Mazuzan, NSF historian (retired)

"Dian Belanger's Deep Freeze, presents science in Antarctica with fascinating perspective, present and past, all rewarding. Well documented."
—Dick Bowers, CDR CEC USN (retired), Officer in charge of construction, McMurdo and Pole Stations, Deep Freeze I and II"

CONTENTS:
List of Maps and Figures
List of Illustrations
List of Terms and Abbreviations
Foreword
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue: The Call of the Ice
1. The International Geophysical Year: Idea to Reality
2. All Hands on Deck: Logistics for the High Latitudes
3. Gaining a Foothold: Operations Base at McMurdo Sound
4. Little America V: Science Flagship on the Ice Shelf
5. Marie Byrd Land: Crevasse Junction, Privation Station
6. South Pole: Dropped From the Sky
7. The Gap Stations: Hallett, Wilkes, and Ellsworth
8. On the Eve: People, Preparations, Policies
9. Comprehending the Cold: Antarctic Weather Quest
10. Looking Up: The Physics of the Atmosphere
11. Under Foot: Ice by the Mile
12. Life on the Ice: The Experience
Epilogue: Science and Peace, Continuity and Change
Notes
Notes on Sources
Index

I was given a copy of Michael's Crozier biography while visiting Ireland in November, 2006. It's on the "to read" stack, but for the moment here's some information:

"Irishman Francis Crozier from Banbridge, County Down was a major figure in 19th-century polar exploration. His voyages with Parry, Ross and Franklin lifted the veil from the frozen wastes of the Arctic and Antarctic, paving the way for Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. A failed romance drove him back to the ice one fatal last time with Franklin's North-West Passage expedition in 1845. All 129 men perished. Crozier took command after Franklin died. He led a courageous battle in the freezing Arctic wilderness trying to bring his men to safety. According to legend, he was the last to die—the last man standing"
--From The Collins Press website

CONTENTS:
List of Illustrations & Maps
Notes
Acknowledgements
Introduction: A Modest, Unassuming Man
1. A Bond with History
2. To the Arctic
3. Seizing the Moment
4. A Promise
5. Fatal Errors
6. Wreck of the Fury
7. North Pole Trek
8. Arctic Rescue
9. South
10. Flirting with Love
11. An Epic Voyage
12. Dangerous Waters
13. Trembling Hands
14. 'I Am Not Equal to the Hardship'
15. A Sense of Tragedy
16. The North West Passage
17. Ice
18. 'No Cause for Alarm'
19. Breakout
20. A Slow Execution
21. Last Man Standing?
22. The Unsolved Mystery Endures
23. A Fitting Memorial
Appendix: Francis Crozier: A Chronology
Reference
Bibliography
Index

I saw this in Ireland but decided to order it from home which I've just done. Once it arrives, I'll update this entry.

"This pictorial biography celebrates the life of Tom Crean, a great Irish hero of Antarctic exploration. His adventures on the ice are captured in photographs taken under the most difficult conditions. These are now assembled for the first time with other previously unseen pictures. The photographs illustrate his early life, the incredible feats in the Antarctic and a peaceful retirement in Kerry. Supported by complementary text, diary extracts and maps plus new information on Tom Crean's life, this is a lasting celebration of a true hero."
--From The Collins Press website

This was published in Norway in 1995 as Roald Amundsen; en biografi. The English translation is a welcomed addition to the literature as little has appeared on Amundsen over the years. Once I read it I'll add more.

"Roald Amundsen is the only full biography of the Polar explorer to be published in English. It uncovers the life of the determined, pugnacious pioneer using vivid first hand accounts, as well as material from recently discovered documents. This is a dramatic, humorous and adventurous story which reveals the true flawed character behind the facade of the benign hero.

TOR BOMANN-LARSEN is an author and artist. His books include The Court Physician, and a biography of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud."
--From the Sutton Publishing website

CONTENTS:
List of Illustrations & Maps
Foreword by Pen Hadow
Preface: Roald Amundsen Country
Acknowledgements

PART ONE: The Dream of the North West Passage
1. The Boy from the Sea
2. The Student of Polar Exploration
3. The Ice Chest
4. First Night in the Antarctic
5. The Two-pronged Plan
6. The Governor
7. The Flag Triumphs
8. A Big Man

PART TWO: The Gamble for the South Pole
9. The King's Ship
10. Polar Bears as Draught Animals
11. Pulling the Wool over the World's Eyes
12. The Coup
13. A Business Trip
14. The Capitalist
15. A Heroic Deed
16. The Dance round the South Pole
17. Fridtjof Nansen has his Say
18. History is being Written

PART THREE: Caught in the North East Passage 19. The Road to London
20. The Goddess of Bliss
21. An Ultimatum
22. The Big Promise
23. A Polar Explorer Plays the Mandolin
24. Black Animals
25. The Royal Yacht
26. In the Embrace of the Ice
27. Ring-billed Gulls
28. Kakonita Amundsen

PART FOUR: In Pursuit of the North Pole
29. The Flying Dutchman
30. Engelbregt Gravning
31. A Beauty from Alaska
32. Columbus of the Air
33. A Criminal Outlook
34. The Journey to Drøbak
35. The Millionaire's Son
36. Beloved above All in the World
37. In the Kingdom of the Dead
38. The Resurrection

PART FIVE: The Lost Continent
39. Thanks to Mussolini
40. The Managing Director
41. Norwegians in Rome
42. Nobile's Dog
43. Nationalists at the Ramparts
44. Literary Suicide
45. Break with the World

PART SIX: Flight across the Pole
46. Internal Exile
47. Knight of the Ice
48. The Bride Who Disappeared
49. The Triumph of Defeat
50. Two Minutes' Silence

Bibliography
Index

The author spent two years as a BAS meteorologist at Deception Island (1964) and Adelaide Island (1965) and returned in 2005 aboard the 'Polar Star.'

CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Some Antarctic Terms
1. Antarctic Beginnings
2. Voyage South
3. South American Indulgences
4. The Falkland Islands
5. South Georgia, and More Falklands
6. Finally, the Antarctic
7. Our Deception Island Home
8. Antarctic Huskies
9. Adjusting to Antarctic Life
10. Some Summer Activities
11. Visitors
12. Deception Wildlife
13. Baily Head Residents
14. Weather
15. Fids in Winter
16. Eating ...
17. ... and Drinking
18. Argentinean Hospitality
19. Winter Breaks
20. A Dark Spring
21. More Socializing and a Reprieve
22. Icy Antarctica
Photo Section [8 pages, color photos]
23. Base Life
24. The Huns
25. Real Sledging
26. Adelaide Diversions
27. Keeping up Morale
28. Not a Cold Winter
29. Sledging Further
30. Academics, Atmosphere, and Animal Power
31. Spring, and Flying
32. Deaths in Antarctica
33. Adelaide Island Events
34. Base Life Comes to a Stop
35. Five Weeks of No Sailing
36. A Slow Boat to Southampton
37. You Can Return
38. Marguerite Bay Bases
39. Southern Isles
40. One Antarctic Ending
Bibliography
Biography
Maps
      Antarctica
      South of Sixty
      Deception Island
      Marguerite Bay

"Living in the Antarctic in the 1960's was not for the faint of heart. The few men on each base lived in small wooden huts, heated by coal stoves. Water was from melted snow blocks, and travel over the frozen terrain was with husky dog teams.

The men made their own entertainment. They also had to get on with each other, as they were isolated for eight months at a time until the relief ship could get through the ice. The experience left an indelible memory on all who lived in the Antarctic.

'South of Sixty,' describes this life, and contrasts it with the changes of present-day Antarctica.

Biography
Michael was born and grew up in Britain. He joined the British Antarctic Survey. After two years in the Antarctic he then moved to Canada, married Norma, and taught secondary school in central British Columbia. Now retired, he runs marathons, writes, and gardens. He belongs to The British Antarctic Survey Club, and the American Polar Society."
--From the Antarctic Memories website www.antarcticmemoriespublishing.com

--R. Stephenson
(26 August 2006)

This significant book probably provides the typical Antarctican with more information than he will ever need on the subject of the shore-based whaling at South Georgia. It's filled with both historic and modern photographs, color and black and white. Numerous maps and detailed plans abound.

CONTENTS:
Preface & Acknowledgements

Introduction

I. INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Industrial archaeology at South Georgia
      Background
      Field surveys
Industrial archaeology and whaling
      Industrial archaeology - an overview
      Archaeology of whaling sites

II. FROM LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRY TO INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE
Antarctic whaling and South Georgia
      Before whaling
      In search of new whaling grounds - from north to south
      Creating an industry
      Heydays - and the pelagic challenge
      The long decline of South Georgia whaling
South Georgia in the post whaling era
      Scientific research station and fishing grounds
      Military base
      Tourist destination
      From scrap to industrial heritage

III. THE SOUTH GEORGIA WHALING STATIONS
Industrial plants and landscapes
      The layout and design of the South Georgia whaling stations
      Grytviken
      Leith Harbour
      Husvik Harbour
      Stromness Harbour
      Prince Olav Harbour
      Ocean Harbour
      Was there a "typical" South Georgia whaling shore station?
      Building methods and architecture
      The industrial landscape of South Georgia
      Whaling stations in other areas - South Georgia compared

Production
      The whaling station production process - an overview
      The vessels
      The flensing platform
      The blubber cookery
      The meat cookery
      The bone cookery
      Ancillary functions in the cookeries
      Separator and recovery plants
      Oil storage tanks
      The whale meal ("guano") plant and store
      The meat extract plant
      The refrigeration plant
      The laboratory
      Transport systems
      Mechanization - how far?
      Oil or meal?

Power supply
      The boiler house
      The electric power station
      Hydro-electric plants and dams

Workshops
      The engineering workshop
      The blacksmith shop
      The foundry
      The plating shop
      The welding shop
      The plumber's shop
      The tinsmith's shop
      The carpenter's shop
      The cooper's shop
      The tailor's, sail-maker's and upholsterer's shops
      The electrician's shop
      The radio, radar and ASDIC shops
      Stores
      The ship repair yard - a plant within the plant

Living quarters
      The villa
      Barracks
      Separate and individual bedrooms
      The bath house
      The laundry

Food and catering
      Kitchen and messes
      Provisions stores
      The slop chest
      The butcher's shop
      The bakery
      The pigsty
      The henhouse
      The coffee-roasting house
      The greenhouse

Recreational facilities
      The cinema
      The library
      Common rooms
      The soccer field
      The ski jump

Other Functions
      Hospitals
      Offices
      Defense installations
      The church and cemeteries

Conclusions

IV APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: Survey methods and techniques
APPENDIX II: Reports and publications from the project
APPENDIX III: Employment categories
APPENDIX IV: Grytviken, general map and index
APPENDIX V: Leith Harbour, general map and index
APPENDIX VI: Husvik Harbour, general map and index
APPENDIX VII: Stromness Harbour, general map and index
APPENDIX VIII: Prince Olav Harbour, general map and index
APPENDIX IX: Ocean Harbour, general map and index

Notes

Bibliography

--R. Stephenson
(26 August 2006)

This handsome, very cleanly designed publication is an offspring of an exhibition curated by the Walton and Pearson that was staged for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXIX held in and around Edinburgh in 2006. It begins with a four-page introduction followed by chapters entitled: "Landscape and Discovery," "Scientists as Artists," "Conserving the Antarctic Natural Heritage,"Antarctic People" (Cook, Ross, Scott, Burn Murdoch, Shackleton, Fuchs, etc.), "Expedition Life" and "Artist Biographies." Many but by no means all of the works featured are from the modern era and many of these are the product of the British artists and writers program. Indeed, all the artists that have participated in this British Antarctic Survey/Arts Council of England program are included.

I counted a total of 64 images, mostly in color. Among the artists whose work appears: John Davis, Edward Wilson, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, Edward Seago, David Smith, Philip Hughes, John Kelly, Layla Curtis, Robert Nicholls, Richard M. Laws, Neil Mackintosh, Gordon Fogg, Sir Alister Hardy, Rolfe Gunther, Sandra Chapman, Keith Shackleton, Chris Rose, Bruce Pearson, John Gale, George Forster, John Webber, Henry Pickersgill, W.G. Burn Murdoch, Dennis Lillie, Reginald Grenville Eaves, L.D. Carmichael, Kite, Frank Debenham, Simon Faithfull and William Martin. Very useful biographies of nearly all of these appear in the concluding chapter.

Any Antarctic collector with an interest in the art of the southern continent will want to have this excellent publication.

--R. Stephenson
(26 August 2006)

This is a lovely production, heavy and substantial, reminding me in looks and layout to Caroline Alexander's 'Endurance.' Of course, they both feature Hurley photographs which may be part of the reason. This is a biography and so there's lots here that has nothing to do with the Antarctic. It also means that it will be interesting reading that may very well shed light on Hurley's Antarctic days. I look forward to starting on page one.

CONTENTS:
Introduction 'Near enough is not good enough' Chapter One. The Boy from Glebe Chapter Two Postcards from Sydney
Chapter Three 'I determined to...get the Doctor entirely to myself'
Chapter Four '...a kind of photographic ecstasy'
Chapter Five 'Blizzardia hoylei'
Chapter Six 'Mr Hurley already feels the Antarctic calling to him again...'
Chapter Seven '...pictures of Life by the fathom'
Chapter Eight Boat journeys
Chapter Nine From white warfare to Flanders' red fields
Chapter Ten 'The exaggerated machinations of hell...'
Chapter Eleven 'It would be a man's bad luck to be killed here...'
Chapter Twelve A night at the opera
Chapter Thirteen '...they quite chortle like Adelies'
Chapter Fourteen 'Pearls and Savages'
Chapter Fifteen The canoe that could fly
Chapter Sixteen 'The Lost Tribe;
Chapter Seventeen '"Three musketeers" in lounge suits'
Chapter Eighteen '...nothing but a cinema show'
Chapter Nineteen 'Siege of the South'
Chapter Twenty Strike me lucky?
Chapter Twenty-one '...just the sort of battle Hollywood might stage'
Chapter Twenty-two '...don't be too brave. The coves don't appreciate it'
Chapter Twenty-three A land traversed
Chapter Postscript '...the naked soul of man
Endnotes
Notes on Measurements
Maps
Extended Notes on Illustrations
Glossary
Bibliography
Notes on the Hurley Visual Archive
Index
Acknowledgements

"Frank Hurley was once a household name in Australia. Now most famous for his photographs of the Mawson and Shackleton (Endurance) Antarctic expeditions, he was also a visual chronicler of many of the major events of the twentieth century and of a rapidly disappearing non-Western world. He was an official photographer in two world wars, a pioneering documentary-maker, participant in early feats of aviation, and cinematographer on major Australian feature films of the 1930s, including The Squatter's Daughter and The Silence of Dean Maitland. In his later years, he travelled the length and breadth of his country to produce illustrated books that eulogised Australia and its people.

In this comprehensive new biography, with over 100 photographs including never-before-published Hurley images and other rarely seen material from the family archive and Hurley's lesser-known adventures, Alasdair McGregor vividly describes the character, achievements and disappointments of a driven and remarkable Australian."
--From the book jacket.

About the Author: Painter, photographer and one-time architect, Alasdair McGregor is the author of The Kimberley: Horizons of Stone, Australia's Wild Islands (both with Quentin Chester) and Mawson's Huts: An Antarctic Expedition Journal. He was artist and photographer for three AAP Mawson's Huts Foundation expeditions to Antarctica, and in 2000 was curator (for the Australian High Commission to Canada) of ' . . . that sweep of splendour': A Century of Australians in Antarctica, a travelling exhibition featuring the photography of Frank Hurley. Alasdair McGregor lives in Sydney.

AVAILABILITY OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA

The book has only been issued in Australia. Here's what Alaisdair has to say about availability in a recent e-mail: "Availability outside Australia has been a bit of a sore point. The book will be on sale in Britain soon . . . At present the book is only available by mail order outside Australia. Its available that way through a number of the major booksellers here. Just put the title into Google and a number of them come up. Alternatively for anyone wanting a signed copy, I can supply them for $A59 + $A35 post (airmail) and handling--$72 US. I found this opportunity proved quite popular over the past couple of years when lecturing on Antarctic cruise ships." He can be contacted at: aimcgregor@bigpond.com

Kelly Tyler-Lewis' 'The Lost Men' has now appeared and has received quite a bit of positive attention in the press. It now goes on my pile of 'books to read.' One will want to compare it to McElrea and Harrowfield's 'Polar Castaways' which appeared in 2004; hard for me to do as I haven't read that one yet, either. The notes and bibliography are both lengthy, which I always feel is a good sign. Most of the photos are new to me. The quality isn't particularly good but then many were taken in difficult circumstances.

CONTENTS:
List of Maps and Illustrations
The Ross Sea Party of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-17 [Listing of the names and positions of the Shore Party and the Aurora's Officers and Crew.]
The Ross Sea Relief Expedition, 1916-17 [Listing of the names and positions of those on the relief expedition.]
Preface
1. "That Restless Spirit"
2. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
3. Aurora
4. Southing
5. The Great Barrier
6. Eighty Degrees South
7. Hut Point
8. "An Ideal Place in a Blizzard"
9. Marooned
10. Return to the Barrier
11. Mount Hope
12. "Homeward Bound"
13. "Some Way or Other They're Lost"
14. "Drifting to God Knows Where"
15. "Whereabout Shackleton?"
16. Port Chalmers
17. Rescue
18. "The Men That Don't Fit In"
Epilogue" "The Brotherhood of Men Who Know the South"
Acknowledgments
Appendix" Units of Measurement
Notes
Bibliography
Index

"In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set forth to make history with the first-ever crossing of the Antarctic continent from coast to coast. On the eve of the First World War, Shackleton sailed south into the Weddell Sea aboard the Endurance, while a ship called the Aurora made for the Ross Sea on the opposite side of the continent. Under the command of Æneas Mackintosh, the twenty-eight man Ross Sea party mobilized to build a lifeline of vital food and fuel depots to supply Shackleton's epic 1,700-mile crossing. 'This programme would involve some heavy sledging, but the ground to be covered was familiar and I had not anticipated that the work would present any great difficulties,' Shackleton wrote.

Yet all went tragically wrong when the Aurora broke free of her moorings in a gale and stranded ten men ashore in Antarctica, woefully ill-equipped to perform their task. Left with little more than the clothing on their backs and scavenged equipment, the men vowed to carry on in the face of impossible odds. Meanwhile, the crew of the disabled Aurora, cast adrift at the mercy of civilization, the lost men struggled to save themselves and carry out their mission.

Researched in Antarctica, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, The Lost Men is the definitive account of this long overshadowed expedition. Kelly Tyler-Lewis throws Antarctic exploration into new perspective as the unforgettable protagonists of the Ross Sea party come alive in this astonishing chronicle of unsung heroism."
--From www.thelostmen.com

The book's website--www.thelostmen.com--has a number of reviews.

PREVIOUS MENTIONS BEFORE PUBLICATION:

Kelly recently e-mailed with the following update:

"My book about the Ross Sea Party, The Lost Men (working title), will be published by Viking in hardcover and Penguin in paperback in the US; Bloomsbury in hardcover and paperback in the UK and Commonwealth countries. Simon & Schuster is publishing the audiobook version worldwide. The project is based upon archival research in four countries, interviews, and field research in Antarctica (and parts north!).

I am a Senior Member of Wolfson College of Cambridge University and a Visiting Scholar at Scott Polar Research Institute. I received a National Science Foundation fellowship in 2002, and spent two months in the Ross Sea region. I am also a Consulting Historian for the British Film Institute.

I am also a documentary filmmaker. For the two-hour film, "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance," airing on the PBS series NOVA in 2002 and 2003 (entirely different from the IMAX), I was producer & writer, along with my producing partner Sarah Holt. The film was awarded an Emmy for Best Historical Documentary and was nominated for Best Documentary of 2002.

For the IMAX film, "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure," I was a member of the production team. I was Coordinating Producer."

UPDATE: I saw Kelly last night and she says the book will be out later this year.
--R. Stephenson
(22 May 2005)

UPDATE: "My book, THE LOST MEN, has been scheduled for publication by Viking and will be available in stores in the US on April 24; it is available for pre-order on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and many independent bookstore sites. The book will also be published by Bloomsbury in Australia and New Zealand, where it will be available in May, and Great Britain, where the publication date is September 4."
--From a recent e-mail from Kelly.
(4 February 2006)

Kelly also sent along a review that appeared this week in Publishers Weekly:

"While the story of Ernest Shackleton's crew of the Endurance is well known, the fate of Shackleton's Ross Sea support party has largely been forgotten until now. Charged with laying supply depots for Shackleton's aborted 1914-1916 trans-Antarctic trek, the Ross Sea party became stranded when its ship tore free of her moorings and disappeared in a gale. Cambridge historian Tyler-Lewis's account of the 10-man party's plight relies heavily on the men's journals, which are amazingly detailed, considering the physical (snow blindness, scurvy, frostbite) and mental (depression, paranoia) problems they faced. The men's decision to lay the depots despite the obstacles demonstrates their courage, but Tyler-Lewis's narrative doesn't focus solely on heroics. Instead, the heart of the book lies in Tyler-Lewis's dissection of the men's relationships with one another. As friends are made, alliances formed and resentment festers, humanity is never lost, even amid inhumane conditions. Given the collection of military, civilian, scientific and blue-collar personnel that made up the expedition, it's compelling to see how each man deals with his fate. Add in the party's adventures of sledding in subzero temperatures with the sociological aspects of being stranded for nearly two years in such an inhospitable place, and the result is a gripping work. Maps, illus. (Apr. 24) © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

This is a magnificent resource and shows the extensive work that Mike put into the effort over many years. It will make a good shelfmate for Ann Savours' The Voyages of the Discovery.
--R. Stephenson
2 December 2006

Mike Tarver has been working on this extensive treatment of the Terra Nova for some years. It looks very hefty and impressive (I only briefly had a copy; it was injured in shipment and back it went. When I have a new copy I'll add some more information.)
--R. Stephenson
21 May 2006

"This extensively researched book is the definitive account of one of the classic polar exploration ships of the 'heroic age'. Published in a large format (280mm x 210mm or 11"x 8-1/4", with 256 pages liberally illustrated with over 160 monochrome illustrations - many photographs appear in print for the first time.

A story of one of Britain's most famous expedition ships put together from accounts recorded by men who sailed in her. It covers the sixty year history of a ship built by a famous Scottish shipbuilding yard for the 19th century days of whaling and sealing before coal, gas and electricity replaced animal oils in domestic and commercial use. Terra Nova operated from her home ports of Dundee and afterwards, St. John's, Newfoundland, when a sea-going career in the seal fishery in those times brought a hard way of life with many human losses and tragedies.

The late nineteenth century saw increased activity toward exploration of the polar regions north and south and the suitability of the sturdy Dundee whalers saw them seconded from seal fishing and drawn into the 'heroic age' of polar exploration. This was the period associated with the expeditions of Scott, Shackleton, Mawson, Bruce, Amundsen and explorers from many other nations who used wooden ships to enter unknown regions in pursuit of territorial advancement and science.

The comprehensive Appendix contains details of the company that built Terra Nova and many other ships; modifications and crew personnel for polar exploration; men who commanded her throughout 60 years; a directory to both polar regions and a list of similar ships launched in that era, with their fates. All supported by a full bibliography and index.

For most of her 60-year life, Terra Nova had a colourful career operating from the Port of St. John's, Newfoundland and was leader of the fleet known as the 'wooden walls' which went to the Arctic ice each Spring with large crews in pursuit of the seal fishery.

Terra Nova a large and powerful steam whaler was seconded from the seal fishery in Newfoundland as relief ship for the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904 and for the United States Fiala-Ziegler Arctic Expedition, 1903-1905. Her most famous role was for three years as the expedition ship for the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN."
--From a publicity flyer.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Author's Note
Prologue
Foreword

1. INTO THE EVENING OF A PASSING AGE

Introduction
The British whaling industry and its ships
Shipyard of Alexander Stephen & Sons, Dundee
Launch of the S.S. Terra Nova and her early years

2. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND NEW OWNERS

Ambitions and achievements of Benjamin Bowring and his family
The founding of a shipping and trading company
'Terra Australis Incognita'

3. FROM THE NORTH ATLANTIC TO THE ANTARCTIC

Relief ship for British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901
Under Dundee command again and first mission to Antarctica

4. FROM THE ANTARCTIC TO THE ARCTIC

Under United States ownership and Norwegian command
Rescue mission to an Arctic archipelago
Return from a successful Arctic mission
Newfoundland for sealing duties

5. HER NAME WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR EVER

Expedition ship for the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910
Fitting out in West India Dock, London
Preparations and British departure from Cardiff
Around the world to Lyttelton, New Zealand

6. INTO THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

Final preparation and departure from Port Chalmers, New Zealand
A storm in the 'furious fifties'
Through the pack ice into the Ross Sea
Arrival at McMurdo Sound and a change of command

7. FIRST ROLE COMPLETE

Expedition base established, scientific parties deployed
A surprise in the Bay of Whales
Scientific parties landed and return to New Zealand

8. NEW ZEALAND REFIT AND HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS

Summary of expedition relief voyages
First return voyage to New Zealand - 'the pumps again'
Winter cruise and survey work

9. RETURN TO ANTARCTICA - 1ST RELIEF VOYAGE

McMurdo Sound - relief and attempt relief of scientific parties
Second return voyage to New Zealand and more survey duties
Another refit in New Zealand and a tragedy at Admiralty Bay

10. TO ANTARCTICA - THE FINAL RELIEF

Last passage to Antarctica
Cape Evans and the tragic news
Final departure. Goodbye Antarctica, return to New Zealand

11. THE VOYAGE HOME

The passage to Britain
Return to expedition home port
Summary of expedition programme
Report on biological work aboard Extract from report 'Outfit & Preparation'

12. NEWFOUNDLAND AND SEALING

30 years with the 'wooden-walls'
Rendering assistance at a maritime disaster
Portrait of a legendary sealing master
A first hand experience of The Greatest Hunt in the World

13. CHARTERED FOR WAR DUTIES

Refit and role as a coastal trader
On charter during War-time
Ice damage to the stern
The last voyage and an S.O.S. call
Memories and recollections
Research and more recollections

APPENDIX

A. Ships built at Dundee by Alexander Stephen & Sons 1844-1893

B. Descriptionand specification of S.S. Terra Nova preparede by Commander H.L.L. Pennell, RN, Surgeon Commander E.L. Atkinson RN adn Leading Shipwright F.E.C. Davies, RN

C. Extract from the Log of United States Coastguard Cutter Atak

D. Chronological list and biographical details of Captains of S.S. Terra Nova 1884-1943

E. Terra Nova crew list Antarctic Relief Voyage 1903-1904

F. Terra Nova crew list Arctic Relief Voyage 1905

G. Terra Nova crew list and shore parties British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913

H. Summarised directory to the Arctic and Antarctic regions

I. Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd 1750-1970 The family line of Shipbuilders and a brief history of the Company

J. Bowring Brothers Ltd Profit & Loss Accounts Balance Sheet 1943

K. Some sealing phrases and expressions

L. Miscellaneous list of whalers and sealers launched and their fates

M. Bibliography and references

INDEX

Mike Tarver e-mailed to say: "I am writing book on long overdue history of the S.S. 'Terra Nova'. Have been researching for 10 years, hope to draw a line under it and publish late 2005." [Mike Tarver spoke on the Terra Nova at the SPRI lecture series on 15 November 2003.]
(24 October 2004)

UPDATE: I saw Mike at SPRI on 13 November 2004 and the book progresses. Autumn 2005 is still his hope.
--R. Stephenson
(22 November 2004)

UPDATE: I saw Mike at SPRI on 12 November 2005. A year goes by but the book is done, a publisher's on board, and it's only a matter of time before the book hits the High Street.
--R. Stephenson
(29 November 2005)

A concise, useful and very well designed guide. Likely to be of greatest interest to the visitor are the site descriptions. These are each 3 or 4 pages and include longitude and latitude, Derivation of the Name, Features (summary), Pointers (summary), Location and Main Features, Landform and Habitat, Wildlife, Human History, Visiting the Site. Included as well are a location map and a detailed map of the site. Overall an excellent resource that should be taken on any trip to South Georgia.
--R. Stephenson

CONTENTS:
A Message from Howard Pearce
Foreword. By Keith Shackleton
About this Guide
Tips for Visitors
Natural History of South Georgia

Oceans and Climate. By Mark Brandon
Geology. By Phil Stone
Glaciers and Landforms. By John Gordon
Vegetation. By Jenny Scott
Wildlife
Introduced Species

The Discovery of South Georgia. By Robert Burton
The Sealers. By Robert Burton
The Explorers. By Robert Burton
Carl Anton Larsen and the Whaling Industry. By Robert Burton
The Discovery Investigations. By Robert Burton
Duncan Carse and the South Georgia Surveys 1951-57. By Robert Burton
Establishing British Antarctic Survey Research. By David Walton
South Georgia, A Diplomacy Case. By R.K. Headland

Stamps
Government Administration. By Sarah Lurcock
Tourism. By Denise Landau and John Splettstoesser
South Georgia Fisheries. By David Agnew
Fisheries Research at King Edward Point. By Mark Belchier
Seabird and Seal Research at Bird Island. By John Croxall
Longline Fisheries and Seabirds. By Graham Robertson

Wandering Albatrosses. By Richard A. Phillips
Burrowing Petrels
Life at Leith Harbour
Southern Elephant Seals. By Martin Biuw
King Penguins. By Klemens Pütz
Fur Seals. By Callan Duck

Elsehul
Prion Island
Salisbury Plain
Prince Olav Harbour
Fortuna Bay
Hercules Bay
Leith Harbour
Shackleton Hike
Stromness Harbour
Husvik
Jason Harbour
Grytviken & King Edward Point
Maiviken
Cobblers Cove
Godthul
Ocean Harbour
St. Andrews Bay
Moltke Harbour
Will Point & Brisbane Point
Gold Harbour
Cooper Bay
Drygalski Fjord & Larsen Harbour
King Haakon Bay

"With a foreword by Keith Shackleton, this book gives information on the history, vegetation and wildlife of 24 of South Georgia's most popular visitor sites. Sally and Kim have drawn on experts in many fields to pull together facts about South Georgia's discovery, past and present, together with its rich animal and plant life. Each site described is accompanied by a detailed map showing the location of wildlife, vegetation, historic artefacts, topographical features of interest and hiking routes. Visitor tips, some of the island's special features and history are covered in additional chapters. The book is illustrated with many photographs and is brought to a close with some inspirational words from Ellen MacArthur."
--From the publisher's website.

(19 February 2006)

This is produced in the same format as Poncet and Crosbie's 'A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia,' which appears above. It is just as well done and would be the book to consult before, during and after a trip to the Falklands.
--R. Stephenson
21 May 2006

CONTENTS:
Map of the Falkland Islands showing site locations
Falkland Islands Countryside Code
Foreword. Sven-Olof Lindblad
Falkland Conservation
Acknowledgements
A Visitor's Guide to the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands--An Expedition Leader's Perspective. By Allan White
Photography in the Falkland Islands. By Tony Chater
A Brief History
The Falkland Islands People
Arrival by Sea--Berkeley Sound--Port William--Stanley Harbour
Stanley
Falkland Facts
THE GUIDE

Bertha's Beach
Bleaker Island
Carcass Island
George and Barren Islands
Grand Jason
Grave Cove
Gypsy Cove
Kidney Cove
New Island
New Island North Nature Reserve
New Island South Nature Reserve
Pebble Island
Port Howard
Saunders Island
Sea Lion Island
Second Passage
Steeple Jason
Volunteer Point
Weddell Island
West Point Island

Glossary of Terms
Further Reading
Useful Addresses
Checklist of the Fauna and Flora mentioned in the text
Photographic Credits

This fascinating guide, produced by the WILDGuides design team, contains a comprehensive full-colour insight into the top nineteen destinations currently visited by cruise vessels in the Falkland Islands. There are also four future sites briefly described which are hoping to attract the cruise industry. The introductory map shows the location of each place within the Falklands archipelago. The text outlines history, possible landing places, with detailed maps, wildlife information, geology and nature/hiking trails. A checklist of all species mentioned, with their English and scientific names, is included. There is also information on the history, the people, Stanley - the capital of the Islands and much more.

There are photographs and specially drawn maps. Most of these tourist sites are privately owned and the unique maps contain information added personally by landowners that you will not find in print anywhere else. There is a "features" column for each site which provides site-specific information, and a "pointers" column which has specific reference to the Falkland Islands Countryside Code."
--From www.wildguides.co.uk

CONTENTS:
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Introduction
Compositions and Publication History
Select Bibliography
A Chronology of Robert Falcon Scott and 'Scott's Last Expedition'
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION

Preface, by Clements R. Markham
British Antarctic Expedition
Chapters I - XX

Appendix
Editor's Appendix I: 'Biographical Introduction', by J.M. Barrie
Editor's Appendix II: 'The Finding of the Dead', by E.L. Atkinson
Editor's Appendix III: Significant Changes to Scott's Original Base and Sledging Journals
Explanatory Notes
Glossary of Names
Index

The vividness, drama, and poignancy of Scott's Journals are as powerful today as they were when they were first published in 1913, when the world learnt the news of the expedition's tragic end. This edition reprints the 1913 text, including many of the original photographs and drawings, as well as incorporating the wealth of scholarship on polar exploration which has appeared since 1913.
* First publication of all the passages deleted from Scott's original text.
* First account of the publishing history of one of the iconic texts of the twentieth century, drawing on papers in the John Murray archive which have never been consulted before.
* The first fully annotated edition, which for the first time give[s] due weight to the scientific aims of the expedition.
* Edited by Max Jones, author of The Last Great Quest, whose introduction outlines the history of the expedition, the circumstances surrounding publication of the Journals, Scott's changing reputation over the last century, and the continued attraction of heroes in our cynical age.
* Includes J. M. Barrie's 'Biographical Introduction'

In January 1912 Captain Scott reached the South Pole, to find he had been beaten by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition. Scott and his companions faced an 850-mile march to safety. All perished on the return. A few months later, a search party found Scott's body and the journals which told his tragic story.

Scott's own account was published to extraordinary acclaim in 1913. Danger grips the reader from the first chapter, as the Terra Nova struggles to force a path through the pack ice. The journey to an unknown land becomes a journey into the self, as Scott's mood oscillates between hope and despair. And, in his last entries, Scott gives voice to the heroic fantasies of his generation, the generation which would fight and die in the Great War.

This new edition draws on ninety years of reflection on the Antarctic disaster to illuminate Scott's journals, publishing for the first time a complete list of the changes made to Scott's original text. Drawing on papers from the John Murray archive which have never been used before, Max Jones tells the story of this remarkable book and charts the changing fortunes of Scott's reputation.

--From the OUP website.

There's more though. As part of the front matter of the book are:

• The editor's 25-page Introduction is well-done, covering Scott's life and offering some insights on the his ever-changing place in English history.

• Next is the seven-page section on the 'Composition and Publication History' of Scott's Last Expedition. This will certainly be of interest to book collectors. I found the information on the Strand Magazine extracts and the later editions of SLE very useful.

• Following this is the excellent and thorough 'Select Bibliography' which numbers five pages. It's divided up as follows: Principal Editions of the Writings of Robert Falcon Scott; Published Memoirs and Diaries of the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913; Principal Biographies of Robert Falcon Scott; Biographies of the Crew of the BAE, 1910-1913; Secondary Sources on Scott and Antarctic Exploration; and General Secondary Sources.

• Then there is 'A Chronology of Robert Falcon Scott and Scott's Last Expedition' which runs to seven pages. It starts with Cook's first crossing of the Antarctic Circle in 1773 and ends in 1986 when Discovery heads for its permanent home and birthplace, Dundee.

Following 'Scott's Last Expedition' (volume I and without most of the illustrations), starting at page 446 are the . . .

• Editor's Appendix I, the seven-page Biographical Introduction by Scott's friend J.M. Barrie which had been prepared for Turley's 1914 book and appeared in later John Murray editions of SLE.

• Editor's Appendix II The Finding of the Dead by E. L. Atkinson which first appeared in the 1923 John Murray 'cheap edition.'

• Editor's Appendix III Significant Changes to Scott's Original Base and Sledging Journals (18 October 1910 - 29 March 1912). These 15 pages are what make the book particularly useful for the researcher. The entries are arranged by date and text is indicated as "original passage cut", "new passage inserted" and "?" (handwriting difficult to decipher).

• The Explanatory Notes of the editor then follow, 34 pages of them. These are often interesting.

• Next comes the Glossary of Names, ten pages of short biographies of not only members of the expedition but people associated with Scott such as Barrie, Markham, and the New Zealand agent Kinsey.

• Lastly comes the 14 page Index.

All in all an excellent job. My one complaint: The production is not up to the importance of the subject. Although affordably priced, the volume is cheaply produced, too small in size and the pages with far too narrow margins.

--R. Stephenson
(26 December 2005)

This is a very nicely produced volume, as one would expect from the Grolier Club, New York's prestigious club of book collectors. The catalogue format gives the explorer or author with birth and death years, a brief bibliographical description, the lender of the item in question, approximately a half page or a page of text describing the expedition or events portrayed in the book, and a useful section at the end of each entry with suggestions for further reading. An excellent addition to any polar reference shelf.

CONTENTS:
Foreword
Introduction
List of Illustrations
Catalogue:

1) The Early Arctic Landscape to 1800
2) Exploring the Arctic Seas, 1801-50
3) The Northwest Passage, Sir John Franklin, and the Franklin Search, 1820-60
4) Dogma, Disasters, and Derring-do in the Far North, 1860-1905
5) Nordic Successes and American Animosities, 1880-1909
6) Antarctica: Scott and The Rush Southward, 1820-1912
7) Antarctica: Shackleton and Others, 1907-22
8) Science and Society
9) Literature of the Imagination, 1800-1945
10) Society Moves In
Realia and Other Objects

Produced as a catalogue to the exhibition of the same name at the Club until 4 February 2006. [See information under 'Events' elsewhere on this site.]

--R. Stephenson
(26 December 2005)

Scott is certainly on the ascendancy these days: In the past few years several titles have appeared that have set the beleaguered hero on an upward course after the modern era's battering that began with Huntford's biography. The first was the late David Yelverton's Antarctica Unveiled, on the Discovery expedition. Soon after came Susan Solomon's excellent The Coldest March. Following these were Ran Fiennes' Captain Scott and Max Jones' The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice. And now here's a 637 page treatment by David Crane. More will surely come.

I haven't even started to dip into it but here are some initial reactions to the physical presentation at least. What's with these colorized bookjackets? The one here is very similar to the one on Ran Fiennes' book. Black and white Ponting photographs photoshopped away! The photo illustrations inside will nearly all be familiar to students of Antarctic history; a more eclectic selection would have been refreshing. The bibliography is sadly lacking. I'll have more to say once I read it and I hope it will be more positive. In the meantime I've included below a blurb from the publisher and a review from The Sunday Times.

-R. Stephenson
(4 December 2005)

Contents:
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Notes on Distances, Temperatures and Weights
1. St. Paul's, 14 February 1913
2. Childhood and Dartmouth
3. Scott's Navy
4. Crisis
5. Enter Markham
6. Preparations
7. South
8. Into the Ice
9. Harsh Lessons
10. Antarctic Night
11. Man Proposeth . . . God Disposeth
12. The Southern Journey
13. Survival
14. A Second Winter
15. Last Season
16. A Long Wait
17. Escape from the Ice
18. The Reluctant Lion
19. The Pull of the South
20. Of Lions and Lionesses
21. Marking Time
22. Making Ready
23. South Again
24. Challenges
25. Return to the Ice
26. Depot-Laying
27. Disaster
28. Winter
29. The Barrier
30. Without Priority
31. Ars Moriendi
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index 23.

CAPTAIN COURAGIOUS
Review by Anthony Sattin

Captain Scott would have been horrified by the fuss made over his death, when the king led a memorial service at St Paul's and a generation about to enter the first world war revered him for showing them how to die on the battlefields of the Somme and elsewhere. Above all, he would have been troubled by the controversy surrounding his two Antarctic expeditions.

The biographies that appeared immediately after Scott's death in Antarctica in 1912 tended towards hagiography. Subsequent generations have reassessed the myth. With each retelling, the story of the men who died gloriously but futilely just a few miles from help has seemed increasingly ridiculous. Another fine British cock-up. This process culminated in the 1980s when Roland Huntford dismissed Scott as "stupid and recklessly incompetent" and blamed him for the death of his men. Recently, however, the tide of public opinion has began to turn in Scott's favour; only last year, Ranulph Fiennes came to his defence in a biography that used Fiennes's own polar experiences to assess the risks that Scott took when he made his final, fatal journey. Now David Crane has written what his publisher claims is the definitive biography. If this is the last word, then Scott can at last rest easy in his icy grave.

All biographers agree about the beginning: Captain Robert Falcon Scott was a young naval officer of some abilities and more determination, who wanted to get ahead on merit at a time when the navy still valued a man's contacts more than his abilities. The frustration this created shows in an early diary entry, when he wrote that "the naval officer should be provided by nature with an infinite capacity for patiently accepting disappointments". Disappointments continued until 1900, when he caught the eye of Sir Clements Markham, the president of the Royal Geographical Society. Markham was looking for someone to lead an expedition to the South Pole.

Scott led two journeys south, the first as commander of the Discovery, the second, fatal journey, aboard the Terra Nova, when he reached the South Pole, only to find that a Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, had beaten him to it. Scott was 33 at the time of the first expedition, and 44 when he died. In those 11 years, he emerged from obscurity to become a national and, in death, an international hero. Part of the magic lay in the destination. When Scott and his men walked out onto the ice, they stepped on to terra incognita; it was a place so remote and challenging that in the 18th century Captain Cook had declared no man would ever cross it.

Advances in technology and experience had brought Antarctica within Scott's reach and he found it one of the most beautiful places on earth. One of the most hostile, too. Even the heart of the Sahara holds no horror like a polar winter. "It seemed like a nightmare," Scott wrote during the first journey, a thought echoed by the men who followed him. This was, and remains, no place for humans, and those who travelled there did so only with a vast amount of support. As soon as the aid was exhausted, the men died.

Crane shows how hopelessly badly prepared Scott and his men were for the challenge, but he pins the blame elsewhere. Their ship leaked, their clothing was inadequate for the temperatures, their rations failed to replenish the vast amount of energy they burnt in the cold and, perhaps most important, their transport arrangements were inept. Here Scott has come in for blame: he tried dog-sleds on the first expedition, but found nothing was as efficient, or as morally satisfying, as man-hauling.

The decision to man-haul had serious implications for the second journey. The race to the South Pole was hardly "fair" because Amundsen had greater experience of travelling on ice and was happy to use dogs and skis. Even Crane attacks Scott for not having the vision or imagination to think "out of the frame", a legacy of his navy training, although he is quick to point out that Scott compensated for this with "clarity of thought and force of personality".

Crane also recognises the explorer's strong sense of romantic, heroic purpose, seeing Antarctica as a setting for "the chivalry of England to test itself in a quest that united pointlessness, patriotism and personal heroism in ways that nothing before the Somme would ever equal". Knightly chivalry was certainly on show--the explorers even had pennants on their sleds. And the parallel with the Somme is apt. In death, Scott became an English ideal, a leader who stood by his men and never gave in.

So which version of Scott is true: Huntford's bungling fool or Crane's transcendent romantic? Crane recognises that in spite of a mass of material, including Scott's beautifully written journals, much of his "interior landscape" has remained elusive. In this magnificently researched and enticingly written account, Crane has explored more of that landscape than any biographer before him. In so doing, he recognises Scott's failures but also talks up his many successes, as an explorer and, perhaps more important, as a leader. It was Scott, after all, who inspired greatness in men such as Ernest Shackleton, Edgar Evans and Captain Oates. In the end, Crane sides with Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who ruminated for years about his lost leader and decided that it was not the achievements that mattered so much as "the spirit of the men".

--From The Sunday Times November 20, 2005

Stephen Haddelsey's biography of Frank Bickerton is now out. He's kept us up to day on its progress for well over a year. I hope to get to it soon and will report back, but for the moment I include the Contents and some publicity from the publisher.

CONTENTS:
List of Illustrations & Maps
Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes Bt, OBE
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Author's Note
1. Of Ice and Treasure
2. Tempest-Tossed
3. Terra Adélie
4. This Breezy Hole
5. Westward Ho!
6. Hope Deferred
7. Endurance
8. Air War
9. The Restless Heart
10. From Cape to Cairo
11. Movies and Marriage
Notes
Sources and Bibliography
Index

Born Adventurer tells the story of Frank Bickerton (1889-1954), the British engineer on Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14. The expedition gave birth to what Sir Ranulph Fiennes has called 'one of the greatest accounts of polar survival in history' and surveyed for the first time the 2,000-mile stretch of coast around Cape Denison, which later became Adelie Land. The AAE was however only one episode in a rich and colourful career. Bickerton accompanied the ill-fated Aeneas Mackintosh on a treasure hunt to R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island, was involved with the early stages of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and tested 'wingless aeroplanes' in Norway. Born Adventurer follows him through his many experiences, from his flying career in the First World War to his time in California, mixing with the aristocracy of the Hollywood and sporting worlds and from his safaris in Africa to his distinguished career as an editor and screenplay writer at Shepperton Studios. Stephen Haddesley draws on unique access to family papers and Bickerton's journals and letters to give us a rich and full account of the story of this incredible adventurer and colourful man.
--From the publisher's website.

Stephen Haddelsey e-mailed recently to say "...that 'Born Adventurer'--my biography of Frank Bickerton--has been accepted for publication by Sutton Publishing, a medium sized, mainstream English publisher. Of course, I'm delighted!."

John Stewart's Antarctica--An Encyclopedia describes Bickerton thusly: "Motor engineer in charge of the airplane/sledge during the AAE 1911-14. He led the Western Party during their expedition. He was due to go south again on the Endurance with Shackleton in 1914, but World War I took him into the navy."

Stephen has been researching Bickerton for some time now and has come up with some interesting material.
R. Stephenson
(26 June 2004)

OXFORD'S FORGOTTEN ADVENTURER

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Oxford-born explorer Frank Bickerton. Nicola Lisle meets the man determined to put his name on the map.

Talking to Stephen Haddelsey--Frank Bickerton's first cousin three times removed--it is clear that he is immensely proud of his family ties to this pioneering explorer.

He is also disappointed that so few people have heard of Bickerton, and is determined to get posthumous recognition for his ancestor's formidable list of achievements.

With his biography, Born Adventurer, currently being considered by a publisher, and plans afoot for an exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, he is certainly taking a step in the right direction.

Frank Bickerton was born on January 15,1889, at The Elms, Iffley--now the Hawkwell House Hotel--and baptised at St Mary's Church, Iffley.

His father was Joseph Jones Bickerton who, for many years, was the Town Clerk of Oxford, as well as secretary to a number of local organisations and societies.

He was a well known and respected citizen, as is evident from the fact that Bickerton Road in Headington was named after him. He died in 1894, followed soon after by his wife, Eliza Frances Fox. Six-year-old Frank went to live in Plymouth with his maternal uncle.

He was educated at Marlborough College, and went on to the City and Guilds Technical College in London to train as an engineer, specialising in aeronautical engineering. His expertise in this field resulted in him being recruited to accompany Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1911.

It was to be Bickerton's responsibility to maintain the Vicker's REP monoplane, which Mawson intended to use for surveying his route. The plane crashed on its test flight in Adelaide, so Bickerton converted it into an air tractor sledge, which was used extensively during the expedition.

Bickerton was also one of the first to use wireless telegraphy in the Antarctic, and one of the first to step onto Adelie Land. From December 1912 to January 1913, he led a three-man party across 160 miles of uncharted territory, and became one of the first to discover a meteorite in the Antarctic. Thanks to this discovery, Antarctica is now recognised as one of the most important meteorite fields on the planet.

On his return to England, Bickerton was awarded the prestigious King's Polar Medal in silver.

In 1914, Bickerton was recruited by Sir Ernest Shackleton for his Endurance expedition, but instead he volunteered for service with the Middlesex Regiment, and became a First World War hero.

Despite suffering horrific injuries, he was off exploring again as soon as the war ended, travelling to Africa, Cocos Islands, Newfoundland and California. He married late in life, in 1937, and died 17 years later while holidaying in Wales.

Researching Bickerton's life has not been easy, but Stephen Haddelsey has been able to track down surviving friends and relatives including Bickerton's daughter, who has been extremely supportive. "She has lent me a lot of material, including three journals covering his Africa trip, which are absolutely laden with photographs. I've also found things in people's attics, and in the BBC archives. Also, the Mawson Collection in Australia was able to help," he said.

Throughout his research, Haddelsey has built up a clear picture of Bickerton's personality, and liked what he saw.

"He was pretty modest and retiring, but he also had a wicked sense of humour--this has come to light quite recently from photos that show him larking around with his best friend, Captain Cuthbert Orde, and these are really intimate, fun snaps. His humour also comes through in his journals.

"One thing that concerned me when I started looking into his Africa exploits--particularly in terms of quoting his words, which I've done extensively--was the possibility that he might come across as less than politically correct. I was expecting all sorts of negative references to the natives of Africa, but instead he talks admiringly about their skills, and about their physical beauty. So that was a great relief to me; it made me like him as a man."

But Bickerton's outstanding quality, of course, was the restless, adventurous spirit that shaped much of his life, and Haddelsey's book is largely concerned with whether that adventurous spirit was inherited.

Was Bickerton a born adventurer? Or was it forced on him by circumstances? These are the questions that Haddelsey's book seeks to answer.

"The most important part of his life is Antarctica," he said: "Over 50 per cent of the book covers his Antarctic expeditions, and the rest of the book covers the First World War, Africa, Cocos Island, Newfoundland and some of his other adventures. But the most adventurous part of his life is Antarctica, and his involvement with the two highly experimental aeroplanes and wireless telegraphy."

When Haddelsey started his research, nobody in Oxford seemed to have heard of Bickerton. That could all be about to change. This month sees the opening of an exhibition at the Museum of Oxford entitled Hidden Oxford, which will focus on unknown aspects of the city, including Frank Bickerton.

Next year, the museum will be mounting a large-scale, multiple-room exhibition devoted to Bickerton's career. Much of his Antarctica memorabilia will be on display, including parts of the crashed monoplane, which are being brought over from Australia.

This month also sees the unveiling of a plaque at the Hawkwell House Hotel in Iffley, commemorating Bickerton's birthplace.

Haddelsey is delighted at the level of interest he's generated, which is a fitting tribute to a man whose courage and pioneering spirit so greatly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of Antarctica.

"Essentially, that was his nature," Haddelsey explained. "He was a born adventurer."

--From http://www.thisislimitededition.co.uk/item.asp?category=History&ID=501 (22 May 2005)

Stephen Haddelsey's next effort: "...I am now working on the first full biography of Commander Joseph Russell Stenhouse DSO, OBE etc: first officer and then commander of the Aurora on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The book will cover not only Sten's Antarctic work--on the Aurora and on the Discovery during the 1920s--but also his service as a Q-ship commander and in North Russia during WWI; his adventures in the US during prohibition; his treasure-hunting exploits; and many more. Already research is progressing well but, as always, I would welcome any information from your readers. The book is to be published by Sutton Publishing in 2007 (which will mark the 120th anniversary of Sten's birth)."
--From another recent e-mail.
(13 August 2005)

UPDATE: Stephen has recently e-mailed some 'critical notices' relative to his biography of Frank Bickerton. Here they are:

"Some larger than life characters enter legend; others enter literature - the model for at least three fictional explorers, Frank Bickerton stuffed his life with event, and not only took part in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, but was a treasure-hunter, served in both world wars... and worked in the British film industry in its heyday... It's the AAE that forms the focus of the first half of this biography, and Stephen Haddelsey is good on the minutiae of life in an Antarctic camp... one suspects undiscovered exploits still remain. What's here, however, represents enough for several ordinary lives". GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE, Feb 2006.

"Haddelsey makes a magnificent job of getting posthumous recognition for his ancestor's formidable list of achievements". NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY, March 2006.

"A Fascinating character". ADVENTURE TRAVEL, Jan 2006.

"I have always suspected that inside every man there is a secret adventurer and inside every woman there is a desire to fall in love with one. And if ever there was a man who could ignite those inner passions, it is Frank Bickerton, whose spellbinding biography surely cries out to be made into a film... Born Adventurer takes the reader into the world of a real life adventurer who puts Hollywood action heroes into the shade". THE TAMWORTH JOURNAL, Feb 2006.

"Insightful and skilled". THE OXFORD TIMES, Jan 2006.

"A fascinating insight into a man who lived life to the full". SOUTH NOTTS ADVERTISER, Dec 2005.

"A true son of the heroic age". WESTERN MORNING NEWS, Nov 2005."

See below for the US and UK Editions

Simon Nasht's biography of Sir Hubert Wilkins is now out in Australia. A copy is on its way to me but all I can include here is a publicity blurb and some past mentions. More later.

It may be ordered worldwide from www.gleebooks.com.au

"Hubert Wilkins was truly the last--and one of the greatest--explorers. And much more. Born in South Australia, he spent much of his life out of the country--but always remained an Australian. He travelled through every continent, and was a pioneer of aviation. He survived crashes and disasters, firing squads and sabotage, living long enough to be honoured by kings, presidents and dictators. He was a front-line photographer in World War I--and was twice decorated. He took the first ever film of battle, and took the first moving images from an aircraft. He was the first man to fly across the Arctic Ocean, the first to fly in the Antarctic--and the first to fly from America to Europe across the then unknown Arctic (the New York Times called this 'the greatest flight in history'). In the 1930s he spent several years travelling in western Queensland and the Northern Territory--where many of his observations and views were ahead of their time. In the later years of his life, he worked for the US military and intelligence--and in 1958 he was buried at sea at the North Pole by the US Navy.

Author Info
Simon Nasht has worked as a journalist in newspapers, and on radio and TV, and most recently has worked as a documentary maker in Europe and Australia."
—From Australian publisher's website (www.hha.com.au)

Simon Nasht, who has recently completed a documentary on Frank Hurley (see 'Antarctic Film and Photography' elsewhere on this site) e-mails to say: ". . . my next project after the Hurley film is a biography of polar aviator, Sir Hubert Wilkins. Called 'The Last Explorer' to be published by Hodder Headline in 2005."
(8 August 2004)

UPDATE: The Australian edition never got to me but the book was released in the US recently and here are the details:

THE LAST EXPLORER; HUBERT WILKINS, HERO OF THE GREAT AGE OF POLAR EXPLORATION by Simon Nasht. (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2006) 346 pp., $27.50. ISBN: 1559708255. Web: www.arcadepub.com

I've not read Simon's book yet—it just came this week—but it looks like an interesting account of a less-well-known but quite important aviator and explorer. I know of only two biographies of Wilkins: Those by Lowell Thomas (1961) and John Grierson (1960). My guess is that this biography adds new information, particularly that from an Australian perspective.

CONTENTS:
Maps
Introduction
Prologue
1. In the Blood
2. True Adventure Thrills
3. An Adventurer's Apprenticeship
4. The Mad Photographers
5. A Man Apart
6. The Great Race
7. Unsuccessfully South
8. Drought Lands
9. Undiscovered Australia
10. Ultima Thule
11. Over the Top
12. Around the World in Twenty-one Days
13. The Suicide Club
14. The Voyage of the Nautilus
15. King of the Antarctic
16. Restless Years
17. Ninety Degrees North, August 3, 1958
18. The Final Journey, March 17, 1959
Epilogue: The Weatherman
Notes
Bibliography
Index

-R. Stephenson
(25 August 2006)

UPDATE: I see the book is now available in the US from Arcade Publishing at $27.50. www.arcadepub.com
It's also available from amazon.co.uk at £12.99.

Most Antarctic polar buffs are familiar with the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4 under the leadership of Otto Nordenskjöld, but, because all of the primary sources are in Spanish and Swedish, few are familiar with the interesting homeward-bound journey aboard the Argentinean relief vessel Uruguay. The ship was severely damaged in a storm north of the South Shetland Islands, and just what transpired between the Argentinean and Swedish staffs became a matter of intriguing controversy and pride for the Argentineans. The controversy ends with a logical and fitting resolution.

When the Corvette Uruguay Was Dismasted contains an English-language translation of a rare pamphlet entitled Cuando la Corbeta Uruguay Quedo Desarbolada (Buenos Aires, 1946), together with an historical introduction and appendices containing the original Spanish and Swedish materials.
--From an e-mail from Michael Rosove.
(3 November 2004)

What's of interest in this book of essays is the chapter "My Odd Shelf" (page 21-28). A friend happened to mention it to me. She starts out . . .

"It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose subject matter is completely unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, upon closer inspection, reveals a good deal about its owner. . . . My own Odd Shelf holds sixty-four books about polar exploration: expedition narratives, journals, collections of photographs, works of natural history, and naval manuals."

"If I had to name the dearest part of my Odd Shelf, I think it would be the pages that describe those geological specimens. The annals of polar exploration contain many moments of triumph, and even more of farce, but they are also filled with death. The lesson these books have taught me is that if you are going to be a martyr, you had better choose your animus with care. When I think of the causes for which people more commonly give up their lives--nationalism, religion, ethnicity--it seems to me that a thirty-five-pound bag of rocks, and the lost world it represents, is not such a bad thing to die for."

On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in exploration: the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one.

Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Within months, the Endurance, trapped and crushed by ice, sank. And even Perce, the youngest member of the stranded crew, knew there was no hope of rescue. If the men were to survive in the most hostile place on earth, they would have to do it on their own.

Victoria McKernan deftly weaves the hard-to-fathom facts of this famous voyage into an epic, edge-of-your-seat survival novel.
--From the publisher's website.

CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments
Shackleton's Stowaway
Map
Author's Notes
Epilogue
Sources
Timeline
Members of the Expedition
Further Reading

An interesting approach: Shackleton's Endurance adventure from the perspective of the fo'c's'le.
--R. Stephenson
(3 November 2004)

In March 2000, a chunk of ice measuring 4,500 square miles broke free from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, and the world's largest iceberg was born.
The size of Jamaica, 170 miles long by 26 miles wide and more than half a mile deep, B-15 contained enough water - in the form of 1,000 cubic miles of ice - to supply the United States for five years. As it calved free from the Antarctic shelf it became the largest fast-moving object on earth.
Ice Island: The Expedition to Antarctica's Largest Iceberg is the story of a scientific expedition and adventure in one of the most hostile regions of the planet.
Through amazing photographs, Ice Island takes the reader on a journey to explore what giant melting icebergs mean in the context of 21st-century global warming. It is a story of treacherous beauty.
Gregory S. Stone, PhD, is Vice President of Global Marine Programs at the New England Aquarium, Chief Scientist of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, and a Senior Writer for National Geographic magazine.
--From the distributors website.

CONTENTS:
The Largest Moving Object
Those Who Went Before
Getting There: Shipboard Life
As Cold As It Gets
A Global Warning
The Future
Global Warming: What You Can Do
References
Endnotes
For Further Reading
Acknowledgments

A nicely produced book on a serious subject. The photography is very good. I've often wondered why, to my knowledge, there has never been a book focusing exclusively on the variety, shape, color and beauty presented by icebergs. This isn't it but there are some very nice views of icebergs. One historic photo caught my eye, certainly new to me: Mawson and Byrd together.
--R. Stephenson
(22 May 2005)

CONTENTS:
Preface
Reinhard A. Krause: Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957) and his Antarctic expeditions 1928-1935
Photos of the expedition
Lars U. Scholl: David Abbey Paige (1901-1978). Artist on Admiral Byrd's Second Antarctic Expedition
Catalogue of Sketches
Catalogue of Pastels
Vita of David Abbey Paige (1901-1978)
List of sketches and pastels
Table of photographs
Laura I. Kissel: Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program. The Ohio State University

This is a marvelous book about a little-known Antarctic artist. It was published to accompany a recent exhibition at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven. Nicely produced with many new-to-me black and white photos (one being the loading of the cows onto the Jacob Ruppert). But the highlight are the many works by Paige: 13 pencil sketches (from the collection of David Paige, Jr.) and 65 pastels and 5 oils on board from the Ohio State University Archives. These are bold and very colorful.
David Abbey Paige was born in Turkey and came to the US in 1911 to live with his Uncle in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (the art featured in this book is due to be shown at the museum in Fitchburg in a year or two). He taught at the Museum School in Boston and then work in New York as a commercial artist and interior designer. He created the cyclorama at Luna Park in New York depicting the First Byrd Antarctic Expedition at Little America. He joined the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition as the official artist. After the expedition he edited Byrd's films at Republic Studios in Hollywood and lectured widely on the expedition. From 1947 until 1970 he was a cinematographer for major motion picture studios in Hollywood. Paige died in Beverly Hills in 1978.
--R. Stephenson
(23 May 2005)

"The First French Expedition to the Antarctic set sail in 1903 under the command of Dr Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the 35-year-old son of a well-to-do neurologist.
Charcot did not want to follow in his father's footsteps, being more interested in life at sea. Using his inheritance he first sailed the waterways of France, Holland, England and around Ireland until in 1902 he sailed to Iceland. He reached the Arctic Circle and his taste for polar voyaging was established.
On his return he commissioned a new vessel, finally named the Français. On 15 August 1903 he set sail for the Antarctic, with the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache aboard for the first leg.
Charcot had designed the ship so every man had a private space and he was especially proud of his provisioning - including adequate stocks of wine.
His account reveals a man of culture and sensitivity. His descriptions of scenery are lyrical and emotionally charged, and his attitude to wildlife was often in sharp contrast to other polar explorers. He charted new coasts, and undertook scientific studies in oceanography, bacteriology, geography, geology and meteorology.
This is a fascinating insight into a totally different style of Antarctic exploration and the reader will enjoy the delightful contrast between his expedition and others of the same period."
--From the Bluntisham website.

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Maurice Raraty [a very useful ten pages]
Translator's Note
Preface
Foreword
Introduction
Expedition Journal

Summer 1904 - From Cape Horn to the Overwintering Station
Autumn 1904 - Setting up the Base and the Start of Winter
Winter 1904 - Overwintering, Scientific Work and Winter Journeys
Spring 1904 - Fitting out, the Boat Journey and Departure from Wandel
Summer 1904 - 1905 - Sailing South, Aground and Return to the Civilised World

Appendix

--R. Stephenson
(23 May 2005)

This is as handsome and well-done as Robson's other Cook book (Captain Cook's World, see below). The Encyclopædia portion is alphabetically arranged. There is a two-page entry for 'Antarctica and Antarctic Circle' giving some background and then detailing Cook's voyages south of the Circle. The Appendices are particularly detailed and useful.
--R. Stephenson
(29 January 2005)

Contents:
Foreword and Acknowledgements
Introduction
James Cook (1728-1779)
The Encyclopædia
Appendices I-VI

Appendix I: A Listing of Logs, Journals, etc. associated with Captain James Cook's ships.
Appendix II: Libraries, Archives and Museums.
Appendix III: Cook's Crews.
Appendix IV: Cook Chronology.
Appendix V: Gazetteers of places named after James Cook , his ships and men who sailed with James Cook on his ships.

Bibliography
Index

Contents:
Maps
Preface
Acknowledgements
Members of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-09
Prologue
1 A Race for Life
2 A Product of Empire
3 Life at Sea, Love on Land
4 War or an Unknown Place?
5 The Making of the British National Antarctic Expedition
6 The Great White South
7 The Southern journey
8 A Square Peg and a Round Hole
9 A Soul Whipped on by the Wanderfire
10 Nimrod
11 Underway at Last
12 A Promise Broken
13 Cape Royds
14 New Worlds to Conquer
15 Waiting Out the Winter
16 Across the Great Ice Barrier
17 The Western Party
18 A Nearest the Pole
19 The Wandering Pole
20 Forced March
21 Rescue
22 Heroes Return
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

"On New Year's Day 1908, the ship Nimrod set off for the mysterious regions of the Antarctic. The leader of the small expedition was Ernest Shackleton who, in the next year and a quarter would record some of the greatest achievements of his career and would then, together with his companions, return home as a hero.
Shackleton and his party battled against extreme cold, hunger, danger and psychological trauma in their attempt to reach the South Pole and to return alive. They climbed the active volcano of Mount Erebus, planted the Union Jack at the previously unattained South Magnetic Pole, and struggled to within 97 miles of the South Geographic Pole.
Beau Riffenburgh has written the definitive account of what Shackleton grandly called the British Antarctic Expedition. The story features an extraordinary cast of characters including Scott, Douglas Mawson, who would become one of the greatest Antarctic explorers, and the Antarctic pioneers Nansen and Amundsen. Nimrod is a story of an adventure which was a source of huge pride and fascination to both the leaders and subjects of the British Empire, and a journey almost too incredible even for Shackleton.
--From the publisher's website. (20 January 2005)

About the Author:

Beau Riffenburgh is an historian specialising in exploration, particularly that of the Antarctic, Arctic, and Africa. Born in California, he earned his doctorate at Cambridge University, following which he joined the staff at the Scott Polar Research Institute, where he is the editor of Polar Record. He is the author of the highly regarded The Myth of the Explorer and is currently serving as Editor of the Encyclopedia of the Antarctic.

He is the main contributor to the text of With Scott to the Pole: The Terra Nova Expedition 1910-1913, a collection of photographs by Herbert Ponting which is the companion publication to the hugely successful and widely praised South with Endurance: The British Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917, which showcased the photographs of Frank Hurley. Click here for more information on the book.

Beau Riffenburgh's new book, Nimrod, is a dramatic account of Shackleton's 1907-09 expedition in which he showed for the first time the courage and as a leader that he would later need again on the Endurance expedition. It is published by Bloomsbury in October 2004.

Praise for Nimrod:

'A masterful balance of true drama and first-rate scholarship. The narrative moves with the speed of a novel, while the author's unerring eye for historical detail captures the essence of polar exploration and explorers and locates Shackleton and his men in the grand scheme of empire'
Sir Ranulph Fiennes

'A compelling insight into Shackleton's first ventures into Antarctica and the experiences that shaped a consummate survivor, evaluator of risk and leader of men - a fascinating story, satisfyingly told'
Diana Preston, author of A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions.

Never before published--a major source for National Book Award Winner Nathaniel Philbrick's bestselling Sea of Glory.
One of the finest nineteenth-century first-person narratives of a sea voyage in existence, and a principle [sic] source for Sea of Glory, The Private Journal of William Reynolds brings to life the boisterous world traversed by the six vessels that comprised America's first ocean-going voyage of discovery--the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842. With great eloquence and verve Midshipman William Reynolds describes the harrowing 87,000-mile, four-year circuit of the globe, and relates the story of how the abusive commander of the Ex. Ex., Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, gradually lost the support of his crew. With a seaman's understanding and an artist's appreciation for the wild beauty that surrounds him, the Journal is a tour de force--combining meticulous observations with a young man's sense of wonder and, on occasion, terror as he is tossed about by the tremendous seas.
--From the publisher's webpage.
(20 January 2005)

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries Digital Collection has a useful website on Wilkes and the U.S. Exploring Expedition. There's a thorough discussion of the publications (1844-1874) of the expedition giving bibliographic information (prepared by Leslie K. Overstreet, Curator of Natural History Rare Books, Special Collections Department, Smithsonian Institution Libraries). More importantly, all five volumes of the Narrative are accessible as are the numerous volumes of the Scientific reports and the Plates volumes. Each page of each volume is viewable and printable but there doesn't seem to be a search function nor can a volume or portion of a volume be downloaded (as far as I can tell). Nonetheless, it's an achievement to have all this available in any format at all.
--R. Stephenson
(20 January 2005)

Contents:
List of Illustrations and Maps
Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition 1897-1899
2. The Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901-1903
3. The French Antarctic Expedition 1903-1905
Appendix: Historical Notes and Lists of Expedition Members

This is an account of three expeditions - Belgian, Swedish and French - that sailed south in response to the London conference resolution, as did Scott's Discovery, Drygalski's Gauss and Bruce's Scotia further east. Overshadowed by the later Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen dramas, the history books have forgotten them. David Yelverton puts their stories on the map of history for the first time, revealing a tale of shipwreck, starvation, illness and death, and above all of supreme personal bravery.

About the author: David E. Yelverton FRGS, a veteran of World War II, retired in 1979 after a career in engineering planning and logistics management, and has since devoted over twenty years to research into Antarctic expeditions that sailed south as the twentieth century dawned. He is well known for Antarctica Unveiled (University Press of Colorado, 2000), a definitive history of Scott's Discovery Expedition, and has catalogued the two premier collections of its photographs. He has also written articles for specialist journals and resolved some longstanding uncertainties about 'heroic age' awards of the British Polar Medal.

--From the publisher's website and the book's back cover.

SAD NOTE: David Wilson e-mailed to say that David Yelverton died on Saturday 20 November 2004. This was a week after David, Wendy Driver, Pauline Young, Joe O'Farrell and I enjoyed a two hour lunch at The Vine in Cambridge prior to the AGM of The Friends of SPRI. We went through 4 maybe 5 bottles of wine, mostly picked out by David who enjoyed his wine very much. It's a great loss to the world of Antarcticana.
--R. Stephenson
(23 November 2004)

An exceedingly useful contribution to the body of first person accounts of the heroic age expeditions.
--R. Stephenson
(24 November 2004)

Contents: (some are described below)
Preface
Introduction
Editor's Note
Part 1 - Dundee to Antarctica (1900 to 11th January 1902)
Part 2 - In the Ross Sea (12th January to 10th March 1902)
Part 3 - The Fading of the Light (10th March to 30th April 1902)
Part 4 - The First Winter (1st May to 31st August 1902)
Part 5 - Sledging Near and Far (1st September to 29th November 1902)
Part 6 - Discovery of the Polar Plateau (27th November 1902 to 19th January 1903)
Part 7 - Relief, but No Escape (19th January to 23rd September 1903)
Part 8 - Final Sledging, then Home Again (23rd September 19034 to 8th September 1904)
Acknowledgements
Discovery Ship's Company in the Antarctic
List of Illustrations
Index

Through the publication of this book I hope many other people, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to read the original journals, will be able to share the pleasure of vicarious participation in the Expedition. There is another purpose in bringing this book to the public. Skelton, whose name is by no means universally known, was, nevertheless, an important member of the Expedition and many books about Discovery include quotations from his journals. Since becoming familiar with the journals, I have found out that not all these passages are faithfully reproduced.

I am aware of at least two supposedly scholarly books which contain misquotations from Skelton's journals. Whereas innocent mistakes can be made in interpreting hand-written documents, the distortion in some instances is of an order which suggests deliberate misrepresentation. The present book gives all serious students of the history of Antarctic exploration access to the full authentic text.

CONTENTS:

- Part 1 - Dundee to Antarctica (1900 to 11th January 1902) - In which - Discovery is built, provisioned and feted before setting sail for the unknown south - the expedition reaches the Antarctic continent five months later having visited Madeira, South Trinidad, South Africa, Macquarie Island and New Zealand en route for coaling, reprovisioning, repairs and scientific purposes, being met everywhere with generosity and hospitality.

Part 2 - In the Ross Sea (12th January to 10th March 1902) - in which - Discovery steams south in search of a safe winter haven - land is discovered on the far side of the 'Great Ice Barrier', the ship reaching further East than any previous expedition - the first Antarctic flight is made by hydrogen balloon - the expedition establishes Winter Quarters in McMurdo 'Bay' to the South West of Ross Island - a number of preliminary sledging journeys are undertaken.

Part 3 - The Fading of the Light (10th March to 30th April 1902) - In which - the Cape Crozier party fails to reach the message post and the return of Barne's party ends in tragedy - the ship is frozen in and preparations are made for winter - the engineering department is kept very busy, not least by the troublesome windmill intended to light the ship through the months of darkness - the 'Great Emperor penguin hunt' provides good sport - and spirits are raised with the first issue of the 'South Polar Times'.

Part 4 - The First Winter (1st May to 31st August 1902) - In which - the windmill is finally blown to smithereens, to the relief of the engineering department - all types of scientific endeavour continue, only suspended in the wild worst of weather - Bernacchi and Skelton almost perish in a blizzard within a quarter of a mile of the ship - many forms of entertainment are devised to while away the time on board - all hands take exercise outside when they can and experience the magic of the aurora and the profound silence of calm moonlit days - preparations begin for the forthcoming sledging season.

Part 5 - Sledging Near and Far (1st September to 29th November 1902) - in which - the expedition's sledgers develop their skills, through numerous short reconnaissance and depot-laying outings, in preparation for the epic journeys to come later in the season - Royds' party succeeds in reaching the Cape Crozier message post with information of Discovery's whereabouts for the relief ship - Skelton, with Evans and Quartley, discovers the first Emperor penguin colony seen by humans and takes the first photographs of Emperor chicks - Scott's party start on their journey to explore as far South as possible - Armitage organises sports to celebrate the King's birthday.

Part 6 - Discovery of the Polar Plateau (27th November 1902 to 19th January 1903) - in which - Armitage's 12-man party, including Skelton, set out for the Western Mountains - having ascended the Blue Glacier, they find further progress blocked by high mountains.

--From the publisher's website.

PREVIOUS MENTIONS included under "Antarctic Books Due and Works-in-Progress"

Judy Skelton e-mails: "... I've reached proof-reading stage with Reginald Skelton's journals, though there's still the odd little bit of writing I've got to do yet to complete everything." Judy expects the book back from the printers by November.
(7 July 2004)

UPDATE: A flyer has been issued on Judy's upcoming book. Here's some of the relevant information: The Antarctic Journals of Reginald Skelton. Edited by Judy Skelton (granddaughter). Cheltenham: Reardon Publishing (www.reardon.co.uk), 2004. Illustrated hardback, ISBN: 1-873877-68-4. Also a hand-finished, leather-bound Special Limited Edition. Prices: £45 (£6 UK postage and packing); Special Limited Edition £90 (£8 UK postage and packing). Overseas surface mail £10.50. "...includes never before published --The complete text of Reginald Skelton's Antarctic journals. --Skelton's sledging diary from the "Western Journey", the first ever to reach the Antarctic polar plateau. --A selection of Skelton's photographs and other Discovery Expedition images."
All royalties will be donated to support the work of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
--R. Stephenson
(29 August 2004)

Some marvelous sketches and paintings and by no means all natural history. Also useful biographical information. There's a bit of the Antarctic here but it mainly focuses on what Wilson sketched and painted when not on his two Antarctic expeditions. Although I can see not including an index, a table of contents would have been useful.
--R. Stephenson
(24 November 2004)

Contents: (some are described below)
Preface
Introduction
Editor's Notes
Part I - 1872-1904
      The Childhood Years: 1872-1891
      The Student Years: Cambridge 1891-1895
      The Student Years: London 1895-1898
      The Tuberculous Years: 1898-1901
      'Discovery' Interlude: The British Antarctic Expedition 1901-1904
Part II - 1904-1912
      Ireland: 1905
      The Grouse Disease Inquiry: 1905-1910
      The British Mammals: 1905-1910
      The British Birds: 1905-1910
      'Terra Nova' Finale: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910 -1912
Select Bibliography and Further Recommended Reading
List of Illustrations and Copyright Acknowledgements

It is probable that Edward Wilson's place in the history of art is as the last major painter of exploration art, an art form largely created by the fusion of science, cartography and art by William Hodges who had accompanied Captain Cook's second expedition from 1772-75. Hodges' work had been admired by Turner who was in turn admired by Wilson. With the death of Wilson, the major media for recording feats of exploration passed primarily to photography and film and the aesthetic technique and vision was subsumed.

Edward Wilson drew all his life, collecting his drawings into indexed volumes he called his "stock in trade". He used them as the basis for his illustrations of Barrett-Hamilton's "A History of British Mammals", and started to use them for illustrating W. Eagle Clarke's "A History of British Birds", a cancelled publication.

After his death, his wife, Oriana, arranged the notebooks and distributed many of them amongst the family. Two books - the "Nature Notebooks" were given to his nephew, Michael Wilson, whose sons have edited this volume. It contains the bulk of Edward Wilson's non-Antarctic work - from the Notebooks and other sources - reproduced here in chronological order, showing his development as an artist. There is also a selection of quotations from the Notebooks' observations and annotations, in keeping with the scrapbook flavour of many of the pages. Additionally, there is a short biography at the start of each chapter, concentrating on his scientific and artistic progress, and a selection of the Antarctic work so the reader can see the continuous artistic and scientific development. It is probable that Edward Wilson's place in the history of art is as the last major painter of exploration art, an art form largely created by the fusion of science, cartography and art by William Hodges who had accompanied Captain Cook's second expedition from 1772-75. Hodges' work had been admired by Turner who was in turn admired by Wilson. With the death of Wilson, the major media for recording feats of exploration passed primarily to photography and film and the aesthetic technique and vision was subsumed.

Edward Wilson drew all his life, collecting his drawings into indexed volumes he called his "stock in trade". He used them as the basis for his illustrations of Barrett-Hamilton's "A History of British Mammals", and started to use them for illustrating W. Eagle Clarke's "A History of British Birds", a cancelled publication.

After his death, his wife, Oriana, arranged the notebooks and distributed many of them amongst the family. Two books - the "Nature Notebooks" were given to his nephew, Michael Wilson, whose sons have edited this volume. It contains the bulk of Edward Wilson's non-Antarctic work - from the Notebooks and other sources - reproduced here in chronological order, showing his development as an artist. There is also a selection of quotations from the Notebooks' observations and annotations, in keeping with the scrapbook flavour of many of the pages. Additionally, there is a short biography at the start of each chapter, concentrating on his scientific and artistic progress, and a selection of the Antarctic work so the reader can see the continuous artistic and scientific development.

--From the publisher's website.

PREVIOUS MENTIONS included under "Antarctic Books Due and Works-in-Progress"

David Wilson e-mailed recently: "My brother Christopher and I have started work on a large book of Uncle's [Edward A. Wilson] British wildlife and landscape artwork--his 'Nature Notebooks'--as he called them--along with his works on British Mammals and Birds, which have been largely neglected. This should be similar in format to 'Discovery Illustrated' and we hope we will get it out next year (2004)--but it is a large and expensive project, so we will have to see.

UPDATE: "'Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks', (which I am doing with my brother Chris) proceeds apace--and we are hoping that it will be out by November."
(28 May 2004)

UPDATE: David sent me the flyer for the new book. Here's some relevant information: Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks by D.M. Wilson and C.J. Wilson. Cheltenham: Reardon Publishing (www.reardon.co.uk), 2004. Illustrated hardback, 168pp, ISBN: 1-873877-70-6. Special Limited Edition: Hand-finished, leather-bound, boxed, numbered, and signed by the editors. Limited to 150 copies. ISBN: 1-873877-71-4. Prices: £39.95 (£6 UK postage and packing); Special Limited Edition £100 (£8 UK postage and packing). Overseas surface mail £10.50. "Edward Wilson is long remembered as the heroic artist of Captain Scott's Antarctic expeditions; we are pleased to present a biographical selection of 500 images from his forgotten sketchbooks. The royalties from this book will be shared between Edward Wilson memorial projects."
David hopes to see the book issued by early November.
--R. Stephenson
(29 August 2004)

Contents:
Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Chapter One - The Road to the Pole (Beau Riffenburgh and Liz Cruwys)
Chapter Two - Scott's Fateful Expedition (Beau Riffenburgh and Liz Cruwys)
Chapter Three - A Tale of Endurance and Courage Beau Riffenburgh and Liz Cruwys)
Portfolio: Selected Photographs
Chapter Four - Antarctic Pioneer (H. J. P. ("Douglas") Arnold)
Gallery: An Illustrated Catalogue
Picture Acknowledgements

--From the publisher's website.

Michael Smith's third major polar book: Crean, Oates and now Wordie. His next will be on Francis Crozier. I look forward to reading the Wordie book as the subject is not well known to me. This probably goes for most Antarcticans, too.
--R. Stephenson
(25 November 2004)

Contents:
List of Maps and Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface xvii 1 Lairds and carts
2 From gold to ice
3 To the Antarctic
4 'The fates are against us . . .'
5 Cast adrift
6 The open boat journey
7 Marooned on Elephant Island
8 Closing ranks
9 The Western Front
10 With Bruce to Spitsbergen
11 Conquering the Beerenberg
12 A new era
13 Both ends of the world
14 On Greenland's unknown shores
15 Perils on Petermann Peak
16 Hopes dashed
17 A last Arctic voyage
18 Top secret
19 A gift for intrigue
20 Final days
Chronology: James Mann Wordie 1889-1962
References
Appendix: James Mann Wordie, Weddell Sea Log, 1914-16
Bibliography
Index

This is the first full biography of Wordie to be written, and it makes use of a wide variety of official sources, of the personal recollections of family, friends and colleagues, and of previously unpublished papers and diaries, most notably those of Wordie himself, including the log he kept of the Endurance expedition. It is illustrated throughout with photographs taken on Wordie's numerous expeditions, many of them previously unpublished.

Michael Smith's book captures all the drama of an extraordinary life lived at the edge and will go a long way in establishing James Wordie in his rightful place in the pantheon of great British explorers.

• 1914-17 member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition • 1919/20 Expeditions to Spitsbergen • 1921 Expedition to Jan Mayen Island and first ascent of Beerenberg • 1923 Leads expedition to East Greenland • 1926 Leads second expedition to Greenland • 1929 Further expedition to Greenland • 1934 Expedition to Greenland and Baffin Bay • 1937 Expedition to Greenland and Canadian Arctic • 1946 Sails to Antarctic Dependencies.

Michael Smith was a political and business journalist for over thirty years with The Guardian, The Observer and the Evening Standard, and his contributed to numerous TV and radio documentaries. He has written two other books on polar exploration - An Unsung Hero, a biography of the Irish explorer Tom Crean (2001) which has sold over 50,000 copies in hardback and paperback editions, and I Am Just Going Outside, a biography of Captain Lawrence Oates (2002). He lives in London.

--From the publisher's website

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd; 2Rev Ed edition (1 April 2007)
ISBN-10: 1841585432
ISBN-13: 978-1841585437
The price is £9.99

PREVIOUS MENTIONS included under "Antarctic Books Due and Works-in-Progress"

From a recent e-mail from Michael Smith, author of the well-received An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor and I Am Just Going Outside [see 'Antarctic Book Notes' elsewhere on this site for reviews]:

"James Wordie, the chief of scientific staff on Endurance, is the subject of a new book by author, Michael Smith.
Wordie became the elder statesman of British Polar exploration, travelling on nine expeditions and was involved in the first climbing of Everest and the first crossing of Antarctica--the initial target of the Endurance venture. Wordie was also Chairman of the Scott Polar Research Institute, President of the Royal Geographical Society and Chairman of the British Mountaineering Council.
Michael Smith would like to hear from those with recollections or information about Wordie."
Contact: michael.smith13@virgin.net

(6 March 2003)

UPDATE: From recent e-mails from Michael:

"Books: Wordie publication date still not finalised, but last heard of was expected in July. I have not seen proofs yet. The book is around 130,000 words and will incorporate a lengthy edited version of Wordie's Endurance/Elephant Island diary which has not been widely seen before. The diary is fascinating.

I have also been commissioned to write a children's version of Shackleton's life. The Tom Crean kids book went down very well and I am aiming to repeat the task. [It] is still being written. I would anticipate launch (in Ireland) during the autumn/fall but this, too, not yet finalised."

(28 January 2004)

UPDATE: Michael has sent along the following blurb on his upcoming book:

"Key extracts from the unpublished diary kept by James Wordie on Endurance and on Elephant Island are contained in the first-ever biography of Wordie, which will be published in September. Author Michael Smith was given full access to Wordie's private papers and documents for his new biography which sheds fresh light on the expedition and Wordie's loyalty to Shackleton long after the explorer's death. Michael Smith decided to include substantial chunks of Wordie's 1914-16 journal in the book because of the importance of the diary to the overall understanding of the expedition. The entries made during the confinement on Elephant Island are particularly powerful. Wordie, a geologist, was chief of scientific staff on Endurance, though Shackleton only appointed him on the day before the expedition was disbanded. He became a dedicated supporter of Shackleton, including acting as Secretary of the Shackleton Memorial Fund which led to the explorer's statue being erected at the Royal Geographical Society. Endurance was the first of Wordie's nine major expeditions to the ice, including eight journeys to the Arctic in the '20s and 30s. He went back to Elephant Island in 1947 but did not land and made his final voyage to the Polar regions in 1954 at the age of 65. He was involved in the founding of the Scott Polar Research Institute and operated as chairman for 18 years. Wordie became a key adviser to Vivian Fuchs on the first-ever crossing of the Antarctic Continent, the ambition of Shackleton's expedition 40 years earlier. He was also President of the RGS and a key influence in the conquest of Everest in 1953. Wordie was knighted in 1957 for services to Polar exploration. Polar Crusader by Michael Smith will be published by Birlinn, priced at £25."

(22 June 2004)

UPDATE: Polar Crusader: Sir James Wordie--Exploring the Arctic and Antarctic is out and I saw a copy a few days ago in London but it's not due in the shops I checked until tomorrow.
--R. Stephenson
(29 September 2004)

"One of New Zealand's most important poets, Bill Manhire is also known internationally as a teacher of creative writing. In the small spaces left between teaching and writing, Bill also finds time for reading and in this case, about one of his favourite places--Antarctica.

THE WIDE WHITE PAGE is the kind of book only a real enthusiast would compile. He's searched far and wide for the best fictional accounts of Antarctica, and mined such rich imaginative veins as Dante's "Death of Ulysses", Ursula Le Guin's "Sur" and Monty Python's "Scott of the Sahara". With an intelligent and entertaining introduction, THE WIDE WHITE PAGE 'mostly makes room for authors who have never been to Antarctica'. Bill however has been, and has even spent "45 semi-heroic minutes at the South Pole".

Bill Manhire's many books include his "Collected Poems" (VUP and Carcanet, 2001), "Doubtful Sounds: Essays and Interviews (VUP, 2000), and his memoir of growing up in the pubs of New Zealand's South Island, "Under the Influence" (Four Winds Press, 2003). After a lifelong fascination with Antarctica, Bill visited the frozen continent as part of the inaugural Antarctica New Zealand Artists to Antarctica expedition in 1998--camping in the Dry Valleys and alongside Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds, and visiting the South Pole. Bill is the director of the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. In 2004 he has been the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellow in Menton, France."
--From a press release issued by the publisher.

Contents:
Introduction
Dante / The Death of Ulysses
Joseph Hall / from Another World and Yet the Same
Robert Paltock / A Gawrey Extended for Flight
Thomas Perry/ Song
Samuel Taylor Coleridge / from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Edgar Allan Poe / from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
Jules Verne / from An Antarctic Mystery
Valery Bryusov / The Republic of the Southern Cross
Georg Heym / The Travellers to the South Pole
Ursula K. Le Guin / Sur
John Martin Leahy / In Amundsen's Tent
Edward Wilson / The Barrier Silence
Dorothy Porter / Wilson's Diary
Chris Orsman / The Photographer in the Antarctic
Chris Orsman / The Ice Fleet Sails
Robert Falcon Scott / Impressions on the March
Derek Mahon / Antarctica
Glyn Maxwell / Edward Wilson
Douglas Stewart / from The Fire on the Snow
Vladimir Nabokov / The Pole
Anne Michaels / Ice House
James Brown / Diary Extracts from Scott's Voyage to Discover the West Pole
Monty Python / Scott of the Sahara
Melinda Mueller / Crean. Night Watch
Melinda Mueller / What the Ice Gets: 23-29 October 1915
H.P. Lovecraft / from At the Mountains of Madness
Henry Hart / Byrd in Antarctica
Ern Malley / The Creation of Antarctic Light
Michael Chabon / from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Denis Glover / 'How Doth My Good Cousin Silence?'
Owen Marshall / The Frozen Continents
Laurence Fearnley / The Piper and the Penguin
Tony Kushner / from Angels in America
Kim Stanley Robinson / Michel in Antarctica
Kim Stanley Robinson / A Site of Special Scientific Interest
Pablo Neruda / Antarctic Stones
Bill Manhire / Visiting Mr Shackleton
Notes
Some Works Cited or Consulted
Acknowledgements
Permissions

This long-awaited treatment of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party has impressed polar historians, based on several e-mails I've received recently. I've just started the book and it seems very well done. There's a lot of depth and the years of research show (the Notes total 28 pages). Nearly all the photos will be new to the reader. The six-page bibliography will prove useful to future researchers.
--R. Stephenson
(13 August 2004)

Contents:
Foreword [by the late R. W. Richards, GC]
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. An expedition to cross Antarctica
2. The Ionic contingent: Australian preparations
3. 'God-speed and a safe return. . .'
4. Voyages to the ice
5. Laying the Bluff depot
6. Farthest south--1915
7. Support parties--autumn 1915
8. 'The dead dog trail'
9. Sanctuary reached
10. 'A glimpse of hell'
11. Crossing to Cape Evans
12. Aurora under siege
13. 'A new heaven and a new earth'
14. Journey to Mt Hope
15. Aurora breaks free
16. Return from Mt Hope
17. Death of the Padre
18. Deaths of Mackintosh and Hayward
19. Apparent treachery
20. Dismissal of Stenhouse
21. 'Marooned on a desert island'
22. 'Like wild men'
23. Inquiry
24. Fêted, honoured and forgotten
Notes
Bibliography
Index

--Sent along by John Splettstoesser
(25 July 2004)

PREVIOUS MENTIONS included under "Antarctic Books Due and Works-in-Progress"

John Thomson e-mails to say: "...there is a new book coming out on the Aurora adventure in the Ross Sea. It is by David Harrowfield and will be published by Canterbury University Press in Christchurch, NZ. David, I understand, has been working on this for many years, seeking only primary sources from which to develop it."
(29 November 2002)

UPDATE: Efforts have been made to get more information on the status of David's project but with no success.
(6 March 2003)

UPDATE: Dave Hood pointed me to http://www.cup.canterbury.ac.nz/Catalogue/Polar_castaways.htm where I found the following details under Forthcoming Title:

POLAR CASTAWAYS: The Ross Sea Party (1914-17) of Sir Ernest Shackleton. by Richard McElrea & David Harrowfield

When Sir Ernest Shackleton's dream of crossing Antarctica foundered with his ship Endurance in the ice of the Weddell Sea in October 1915, he doubtless wondered how this would affect his support party on the other side of the continent. He could not communicate with them and tell them no longer to proceed.

The task of the Ross Sea party was to lay the vital depots to support Shackleton's traverse party. Theirs was a hard task. They were under-financed, inadequately prepared--and unlucky. In May 1915, shortly after arriving at Cape Evans on Ross Island, their ship Aurora was blown out to sea from its moorings, and drifted in ice for nearly a year before it could be freed. Ten men were left ashore, completely isolated from the outside world, and without proper equipment and supplies. Notwithstanding, they remained true to their responsibilities and laid depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to Mt Hope, but at great personal hardship and cost.

Remarkably, after some 85 years, this book is the first in-depth account of the Ross Sea Party, the drift of the Aurora and the relief expedition under the command of polar veteran Captain J. K. Davis. The book fills one of the last major gaps in the literature of the 'heroic era' of polar exploration. It has been written almost entirely from primary sources and includes a number of photographs never previously published, as well as maps and other illustrations.

THE AUTHORS

Richard McElrea is a lawyer and coroner. He was a New Zealand Antarctic Society hut caretaker in Antarctica in 1971. He is a past president of the New Zealand Antarctic Society and past chairman of the Antarctic Heritage Trust. He is associate editor of Shackleton's Lieutenant, the Nimrod Diary of A.L.A. Macintosh, British Antarctic Expedition 1907-09, edited by Stanley Newman (Polar Publications 1990).

David Harrowfield was formerly Antarctic Curator at Canterbury Museum, Executive Officer of the Antarctic Heritage Trust and Research Officer, Antarctic, at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. He has made numerous visits to Antarctica and has published widely on conservation of historic sites. He now runs South Latitude Research Ltd and is a member of the Antarctic Heritage Trust Conservation Advisory Group. In 1995 he was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to study historic site preservation in the Arctic.

Both authors have undertaken detailed research on this expedition over more than ten years. They have interviewed and corresponded with veterans since deceased, and undertaken field work at the historic sites in Antarctica that feature in this book.

Publication: Mid-2003
ISBN 1-877257-25-7 Paperback
ISBN 1-877257-26-5 Hardback
RRP $59.95 (approx) hardback; $39.95 (approx) paperback
230 x 150 mm; 300 pp (approx); 50 b/w photos, 4-colour maps

--R. Stephenson
(19 April 2003)

UPDATE: From an e-mail from Kaye Godfrey of the Canterbury University Press: "...the book is almost to production stage, and we are now noting on our website that it is due out late 2003, we hope around October or November. The price is not yet confirmed, but will be around NZD $65 (plus postage/packaging for international orders.)
(30 June 2003)

UPDATE: Also doing a book on the Ross Sea Party is Kelly Tyler (who was involved in the Shackleton IMAX production et al). [See below.]
--R. Stephenson
(9 November 2003)

UPDATE: The website of the Canterbury University Press now lists the publication date as April 2004. Also, now 320 pp (approximately), 32 pages of photographs, 4 pages of colour maps.
--R. Stephenson
(8 January 2004)

UPDATE: The website now lists the publication date as July 2004. Price now given as NZ$49.95.
--R. Stephenson
(26 June 2004)

"Due South catalogues moments in time experienced during a journey to Antarctica, the last great wilderness. As selected artist with the British Antarctic Survey, my work is an attempt to present the reality of Antarctica, not simply a visual record, but an account of the emotions and fleeting thoughts of life in the 'freezer'.
Increasingly I became aware of the great migration of life at the margin. The vast movement of wildlife within the air and the sea, dictated by the seasons and by the great exodus of life to the north with the first storms of winter.
The confrontation with the sublime on such a scale was only possible due to that 'silent sea' of the inner self, into which one could retreat for shelter and reflection. And so it was that I turned to the sketch book and journal."
Illustrated with photographs and line drawings, Due South is an evocative and personal account of an individual's encounter with Antarctica. Published to coincide with exhibitions at the Natural History Museum (24 February-1 August 2004) and the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum (23 January-6 March 2005), it mixes text and image to recreate the extreme experience of the Antarctic landscape.
JOHN KELLY is an artist and writer, whose work includes photography, drawing and the use of objects. He has travelled widely within North Africa and has produced a number of exhibitions on this and other themes. He was selected artist for the British Antarctic Survey in 2003.

and

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANTARCTICA AND THE SOUTHERN OCEANS Edited by Bernard Stonehouse. (Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley, 2002) 391 pp, color maps, black & white illustrations. $350. ISBN 0-471-98665-8.

The following reviews appeared in Arctic, March and May-June 2003 issues. Written by John Splettstoesser and included here with his permission.

It is possible that one can have too many coffee-table books on Antarctica, with pretty photographs and narrative to cover the usual subjects, such as wildlife, history, politics, science, tourism, and so on, but I recommend just one or two more to appeal to the Antarctophile. The price for Trewby's book is right, and so is the content. I'll treat that one first, and make comparisons between it and the book by Stonehouse below. [Mary] Trewby's book is appropriately named 'An Encyclopedia,' for it compiles words common to Antarctica in alphabetical order. The objective is an effort to provide readers with brief descriptions of many of the terms that appear in the literature related to Antarctica. It does the job very well. It was produced by the award-winning documentary company Natural History New Zealand, with the input of the 18 Consulting Editors listed on p. 6. All are from New Zealand, are experts in their fields, and are associated with Government departments, academic institutions or companies. Two maps (Physical, Political) are shown in the introductory material, and the word/term entries start on p. 12 and end on p. 203. The alphabetical entries are broken up by lengthier descriptions of six additional sections for more detailed information--Antarctic Treaty, Dry Valleys, Exploration, Icebergs, Penguins, and South Pole. A useful addition to many entries is that of words or terms in all capital letters as referrals to entries described elsewhere.

The A to Z entries are followed by a half-page of photographic credits, a page listing a Selected Bibliography, a list of 34 useful websites, and a 4-page Index. The paper is glossy, with high-quality reproduction of photographs.

A generous inclusion of photographs, most in color and some in black-and-white (historical and expeditions) can be found on nearly every page, to illustrate features related to the alphabetical entries. Less space could have been used for what might be called incidental or borderline relevance, but the photos are of high quality and scenic in many cases. A few can be categorized as misleading or in need of additional explanation--e.g. the photo of the 'Arctic tern' on p. 23 shows the bird with a two-egg clutch. Either the bird is actually an Arctic tern, photographed in the Arctic, or an Antarctic tern. On page 127 the 'ancient moraine formed by a granite escarpment' is difficult to decipher--marks on the photo would be useful to show what is described. Identification of giant petrels missed something, having the southern variety with a reddish color to the bill tip, and greenish for the northern (the reverse is true), and the southern having a white 'phase' instead of 'morph.' The photo of stratified coal (p. 51) shows primarily Ferrar sills in sedimentary rocks, but if one doesn't know where to look for the coal (almost invisible at this distance), the sills could lead one to think they are coal beds. The photo of Mount Erebus (p. 174) is a reverse image--Erebus Glacier Tongue is on the 'wrong' side of Hut Point Peninsula.

The two maps have a few minor errors as well. The Political map has misspellings (Marambio and Novolazarevskaya), Port Martin base (France) is about 60° of longitude west of its proper location, and Byrd Station (U.S.) is quite a distance from where it was built (80°S, 120°W). None of these amounts to distractions, but it does foretell a number of minor 'gremlins' in the entries, a trait that few books can eliminate totally, even with the aid of spelling-checkers and fact-checking. I will only mention a few, but also invite authors/editors of the volume to contact me (spletts@usfamily.net) if they are contemplating a further edition (many entries have information/figures/etc. as of the year 2000 and 2001). I will send them my list by electronic mail of about 150 awkward sightings of things like misspellings (many), typos of various kinds, erroneous information, inconsistencies, and so on. (I have a comparable list for errors found in Stonehouse's book.) In my effort to provide a thorough review, I read the entire contents, not for nit-picking purposes, but because it is interesting. What I found is by no means representative of the whole book, or of the value of its contents of about 1,000 entries and 250 photographs. It has considerable value in assembling virtually all the words and terms that are found in the literature and when visiting research stations (the entry 'Vocabulary' is particularly enlightening). Descriptions of expeditions are brief, but useful in describing what happened and when.

Suggestions for discussion by the editors for a future edition include a few additional words in the Index--Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts; Euphausia superba (oddly enough, not mentioned anywhere in the book); growlers are listed, but not Bergy Bits; Procellariiformes; tube-nosed. An entry that puzzled me a bit is 'bicycles'. I thought the description would be its use by Edward Wilson on Scott's expedition. Not so. Interesting, but it invites lots of other terms that could fall into the dilemma of "What to include, what to exclude?" As a geologist, I came across a 'howler' worth remembering. Bounty Islands (p. 39) "are not volcanic but are solid BEDROCK OUTCROPS scattered over the ocean surface." (No mention of what makes them buoyant.)

This book will be of interest to anyone with a collection of polar books, not only Antarctic because of the usage of terms for either region, but also anyone with few or no books on Antarctica. The low price is difficult to ignore, and it makes a handsome addition to a coffee table. The cover photos demand that anyone looking at it will pick it up. It is a required purchase for libraries as well.

This encyclopedia by renowned polar specialist in biology, Dr. Bernard Stonehouse, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, U.K., is probably the most complete and true encyclopedia of any on the market, past or present. His version is pricier, but there are distinct advantages to it over Trewby's book. The Stonehouse book has about 300 more entries, but also has no color photos. The smaller photos and numerous maps in Stonehouse's book thus yield to additional text, which includes six appendixes on Antarctic Treaty Measures and Conventions and the complete content of the Environmental Protocol and Antarctic Treaty, all of which are significant in the successful management of Antarctica and its fragile fauna and flora. In addition, eight Study Guides (Climate and Life; Exploration; Geography; Geology and Glaciology; Information Sources; National Interests in Antarctica; Protected Areas Under the Antarctic Treaty; and Southern Oceans and Islands) provide summaries of those topics by including some of the entries in the A to Z section (p. 1-297, from Aagaard to Zumberge Coast). This approach to an encyclopedia and its entries provides a pathway to actual use of the definitions. The final 13 pages consist of a list of all encyclopedic entries, from A to Z by title and page number for quick location in the text. A section on Further Reading is a bibliography of 5 pages. The entries themselves are each headed by large, boldface black type, making it easier to scan than the smaller type of blue headings in Trewby's book. Stonehouse has included color maps between p. 180 and 181, consisting of the Antarctic Peninsula, with an inset of the South Shetland Islands that have a plethora of Treaty Party stations on them; and a foldout map of the entire continent. Major features are labeled, and the colors distinguish between the mainland, rock exposures, and attached ice shelves.

As Trewby has done, Stonehouse has also enlisted contributors (28), nearly all from U.K., and advisory editors (6), all of them experts in their respective fields of interest. If there was a choice of one versus the other, and if price was no object, I would choose Stonehouse's book. With a little extra money, though, you can have them both, as each has its place on the bookshelf of individuals who often need to refer to a book of this nature to look up a name, date, or place. Libraries will certainly want both of them. A second edition of either book in paperback binding would be advantageous as a means of reducing the price, and would also allow incorporating correction of the errors found in each book.

From the publisher's website:

Covers the entire history of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, from the voyage of Pytheas ca. 325 B.C. to the present, in one convenient, comprehensive, reference resource. The next decade will see centennial celebrations marking the heroic age of the great polar explorers: Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, and Sir Ernest Shackleton. From Pytheas's voyage to the Arctic Circle in 325 B.C. to Børge Ousland's solo crossing of the Arctic Ocean in 2001, the history of our quest to conquer the poles is filled with tales of courage, inspiration, tragedy, and triumph.

Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, is the only reference work that provides a comprehensive history of polar exploration from the ancient period through the present day. The author is a noted polar scholar and offers dramatic accounts of all major explorers and their expeditions, together with separate exploration histories for specific islands, regions, and uncharted waters. He presents a wealth of fascinating information in a variety of subject entries (methods of transport, myths, achievements, and record-breaking activities).

By approaching polar exploration biographically, geographically, and topically, Mills reveals a number of intriguing connections between the various explorers, their patrons and times, and the process of discovery in all areas of the polar regions. Furthermore, he provides the reader with a clear understanding of the intellectual climate as well as the dominant social, economic, and political forces surrounding each expedition. Readers will learn why the journeys were undertaken, not just where, when, and how.

Title Features
• 511 A-Z biographical, geographical, and subject entries on polar exploration such as dogs, man-hauling, Elephant Island, South Georgia, and major explorers such as Sir John Franklin, Fridtjof Nansen, and Richard Byrd.
• Extensive collection of photographs many taken by expedition participants.
• Vivid illustrations, including woodcuts and drawings.
• 20 maps detailing Arctic and Antarctic regions.
• Chronology of expeditions beginning with the voyage of Pytheas in 325 B.C. through the present

Highlights
• The only title to tell the stories of all major polar expeditions, Arctic and Antarctic.
• Numerous great stories, many that rival Amundsen's journey to the South Pole and Shackleton's Endurance.
• Examines the intellectual, social, economic, and political forces surrounding each expedition.

I've not seen the book yet but plan to order it soon despite the formidable price. Knowing William--the librarian and keeper of collections at Scott Polar Research Institute--I'm sure it's well done. He is, sadly, quite ill at the moment and this is almost certainly his final accomplishment.
--R. Stephenson
(28 February 2004)

At the turn of the twentieth century the geographical South Pole was the object of one of the last great races of discovery. This 'heroic age' of exploration is a chronicle of hardship, courage, endurance and tragedy. It is a record of men who overcame great odds and often their own fears and foibles to reach the South Pole. The British names of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton are writ large in the legend of this frozen continent.

The 'heroic age' saw a number of British Antarctic expeditions mounted and dozens of men risked their lives to conquer the last great frontier on earth. These parties built substantial wooden huts at locations accessible by ship and from these bases the sledging parties left for the interior.

About one century after their construction, Josef and Katharina Hoflehner present this premiere detailed portrayal of these historic sites. Many of these fine photographs are accompanied by excerpts from diaries gathered from Antarctic historic site authority and author David L. Harrowfield. In his foreword he wrote: "... for the first time a book now captures the true feeling and uniqueness of the huts and their contents."
--From the book's website (www.frozenhistory.com).

A follow-up e-mail: "...we ship books with destination "Pacific Rim" from New Zealand. David Harrowfield (d.harrowfield@xtra.co.nz ) is responsible for distribution to individuals and resellers in this area and he takes credit cards, cheques and I think bank-transfer also. Meanwhile the book is listed at some resellers e.g. Hedgehoe House (Colin Monteath) and some bookshops in New Zealand. It's available at Scott Base and I think at McMurdo, too.
Books to Europe, USA or elsewhere we ship from Austria. Within Germany, Austria and Switzerland the book can be ordered in bookshops also. Unfortunately it's not yet available through Amazon.com or similar. I try to keep shipping cost as low as possible, so within European Union I ship for free, and to USA I ship for 8 USD (effective cost is $20,00 +).
Within the European Union I enclose an invoice and ask for bank-transfer, elsewhere I send an e-mail 'money request' form via 'Paypal'."
--R. Stephenson
(16 December 2003)

UPDATE: "I just received my copy of Josef Hoflehner's "Frozen History: The Legacy of Scott and Shackleton" and am quite impressed. It definitely is an "art" book and the black and white shots provide an interesting view of these historic sites and artifacts beyond what has already been done. Using black and white film, the photographer makes the huts appear timeless, whether one imagines Shackleton ready to burst through the door at any moment, Ponting setting up for a shot, or when I was lucky enough to visit the huts myself in the early 1990s. The palpable spirit of timelessness and history that I sensed there has been convincingly captured on these pages. More art than history, this book is very nicely done and would make a good addition to any polar enthusiast's collection."
--From a recent e-mail from Charles Lagerbom (author of The Fifth Man: Henry R. Bowers)
(30 December 2003)

UPDATE: I received a copy a few days back and agree with Charles Lagerbom. It's a beautifully produced book and well worth the price. It's mainly a photography book (all black and white and very crisp) with very little text. It's a large book (12 inches tall). According to the copyright page there is also a Limited Edition of 300 copies. --R. Stephenson
(8 January 2004)

Contents:
Introduction
Foreword (by David L. Harrowfield)
Ross Island
Hut Point -- Scott's Discovery Hut
Cape Royds -- Shackleton's Nimrod Hut
Cape Evans -- Scott's Terra Nova Hut
Conclusion (by Herbert Justnik)
Afterword (by Josef Hoflehner)
Authors Information
Acknowledgments
Notes and Sources
Bibliography

UPDATE: Josef Hoflehner e-mails to say "As mentioned, the competition is named "Austria's most beautiful books". There are several categories and each category has a winner. However, just one book out of these category-winners is the winner of the state-award (national prize) and this overall winner is Frozen History. For book-publishers this is a really prestigious award and it receive high media interest (Europe-wide), so competition was strong.
On February 11th a ceremony takes place at the office of our Federal Chancellor in Vienna."
(15 January 2004)

"America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea-and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his bestselling In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award, he probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in a cinematic epic of adventure, he writes about the expedition that attempted to tame those dangers, only to find itself at the mercy of a tempestuous commander.

The U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842 was one of the most ambitious undertakings of the nineteenth century and one of the largest voyages of discovery the Western world had ever seen--six magnificent sailing vessels and a crew of hundreds that included botanists, geologists, mapmakers, and biologists, all under the command of the young, brash Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Their goal was to cover the Pacific Ocean, top to bottom, and to plant the American flag around the world. Four years after embarking, they returned to the United States having accomplished this and much more. They discovered [sic] a new southern continent, which Wilkes would name Antarctica. They were the first Americans to survey the treacherous Columbia River, the first to chart dozens of newly discovered islands all across the Pacific. They explored volcanoes in Hawaii, confirmed Charles Darwin's theory of the formation of coral atolls, and collected thousands of specimens that eventually became the foundation of the Smithsonian's scientific collections.

This was an enterprise that should have been as celebrated and revered as the expeditions of Lewis and Clark. Philbrick explains for the first time why the "Ex. Ex." vanished from the national memory. Using new sources, including a secret journal, Philbrick reconstructs the darker saga that official reports, which focused on the Ex. Ex.'s accomplishments, never told. The story pivots on Charles Wilkes--simultaneously ambitious, proud, petty, and courageous, a self-destructive dynamo who undermines his own prodigious feats by alienating his crew and officers, fighting battles with his sponsors, and jealously guarding what should have been a proud national legacy. Against him stands William Reynolds, a promising young officer who signs on to the voyage filled with enthusiasm and admiration for Wilkes and ends it in bitter disillusion, finally facing his former commander in a sensational courtroom confrontation.

Philbrick combines meticulous scholarship with spellbinding human drama in a tale that circles the globe: from the palm-fringed beaches of the South Pacific to the icy waters off Antarctica to the stunning Pacific Northwest coastline. He takes us under sail and inside the heads of Wilkes and his officers. We feel the excitement of discovery--of climbing down into a smoldering volcano or looking out from a tall mast and spying a new continent. We feel the drama of terrifying encounters with hostile and dangerous natives. And at the end, we are grateful to have this piece of our history restored at last, in a magnificent American saga.

About the Author: Nathaniel Philbrick Is the author of the New York Times bestseller In the Heart of the Sea, which won the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies and a leading authority on the history of Nantucket, where he lives with his wife and two children."
--From the dustjacket.

"In 1838, the U.S. government launched the largest discovery voyage the Western world had ever seen&mdash6 sailing vessels and 346 men bound for the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Four years later, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, or Ex. Ex. as it was known, returned with an astounding array of accomplishments and discoveries: 87,000 miles logged, 280 Pacific islands surveyed, 4,000 zoological specimens collected, including 2,000 new species, and the discovery [sic] of the continent of Antarctica. And yet at a human level, the project was a disaster-not only had 28 men died and 2 ships been lost, but a series of sensational courts-martial had also ensued that pitted the expedition's controversial leader, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, against almost every officer under his command.

Though comparable in importance and breadth of success to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Ex. Ex. has been largely forgotten. Now, the celebrated Nathaniel Philbrick re-creates this chapter of American maritime history in all its triumph and scandal.

Like the award-winning In the Heart of the Sea, Sea of Glory combines meticulous history with spellbinding human drama as it circles the globe from the palm-fringed beaches of the South Pacific to the treacherous waters off Antarctica and to the stunning beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and, finally, to a court-martial aboard a ship of the line anchored off New York City."
--From the publisher's website.

The December 28, 2003 issue of the Boston Sunday Globe has a quite complimentary review of the book by Joan Druett. "...descriptions of battles with storms and Antarctic ice are outstandingly vivid reading. His research is both comprehensive and painstaking."
The Notes are extensive (49 pages), so too the useful Bibliography (22 pages).
--R. Stephenson
(8 January 2004)

Contents:
Preface: Young Ambition
PART ONE:
Chapter 1. The Great South Sea
Chapter 2. The Deplorable Expedition
Chapter 3. Most Glorious Hopes
PART TWO:
Chapter 4. At Sea
Chapter 5. The Turning Point
Chapter 6. Commodore of the Pacific
Chapter 7. Antarctica
Chapter 8. A New Continent
PART THREE
Chapter 9. The Cannibal Islands
Chapter 10. Massacre at Malolo
Chapter 11. Mauna Loa
Chapter 12. The Wreck of the Peacock
Chapter 13. Homeward Bound
PART FOUR
Chapter 14. Reckoning
Chapter 15. This Thing Called Science
Chapter 16. Legacy
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index

Contents:
Authors, Contributors, Reviewers
Foreword by Helen Clark, Prime Minister
Letter from the Hon Alexandra Shackleton
Contents
Glossary of Terms
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background p 9
1.2 Conservation Philosophy p 9
1.3 Purpose p 10
1.4 Associated Documents p 11
1.5 Standards p 11
1.6 Acknowledgements p 13
HISTORY
2.1 The British Antarctic Expedition 1907-09 p 17
2.2 The Hut at Cape Royds p 20
2.3 Chronology p 28
DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
3.1 Site p 33
3.2 Hut Exterior p 35
3.3 Hut Interior p 43
3.4 Artefacts Outside p 47
3.5 Artefacts Inside p 48
CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
4.1 Introduction p 55
4.2 Criteria for Assessment p 55
4.3 Statement of Significance p 56
4.4 Relative Values p 57
CONSTRAINTS
5.1 Environmental Constraints p 61
5.2 Environmental Degradation p 61
5.3 Logistic Constraints p 62
5.4 Legal Constraints p 63
5.5 Funding Constraints p 64
CONSERVATION POLICIES
6.1 Background p 67
6.2 Conservation of the Hut p 68
6.3 Conservation of Artefacts p 72
6.4 General Policies p 75
RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Environs p 79
7.2 Building Exterior p 79
7.3 Building Interior p 81
7.4 Maintenance and Planning p 81
7.5 Artefacts p 82
7.6 Replication p 85
7.7 Architectural Drawings p 86
IMPLEMENTATION
8.1 Implementation Plan log p 109
8.2 Outline Programme log p 109
8.3 Personnel p 111
8.4 Transportation and Logistics p 111
8.5 Financial Resources Required p 111
8.6 Maintenance p 111
8.7 Review of this Report p 112
APPENDICES
1 Biographies p 114
2 Bibliography p 116
3 Original Specification p 118
4 Artefact Listing by Chenhall and Classification Summary Report p 123
5 Stores List of Supplies and Equipment Taken to Cape Royds p 124
6 Shackleton's Hut - Building Services Design Report p 143
7 ICOMOS Charter p 148
8 Key Conservation Personnel p 152

But such opinions aside, this is a very valuable report for all the detail included. There are some photographs that haven't been seen before; a useful Chronology of the Hut and its various repairs, replacements, changes, studies of, etc., from its construction to 2002; two excellent and detailed site plans of the Hut and its environs at Cape Royds (complete with contours); 18 detailed architectural plans and elevations of the Hut at a scale of 1:25; and in the Appendices, a very useful series of short biographies of members of the Nimrod expedition; an extensive Bibliography of material related to the Hut (Unpublished Manuscripts, Reports, Theses, Maps, Plans, Photographs; Field Reports; and Published Titles); the original typescript specifications for the Hut (total price: £154!); and a 20-page listing of artifacts, stores and equipment taken south to Cape Royds by the expedition (broken down by Provisions, Meat, Other Provisions, Miscellaneous Goods [Utensils, Enamelware, Earthenware, Heating and Lighting Equipment], Transport [New Arrol-Johnston Motor Car, Ponies, Dogs, Sledging Equipment, Climbing Equipment], Tools, Fuel, Surveying Equipment, Photographic Equipment, Scientific Equipment [Meteorological, Time Keeping, Laboratory and Miscellaneous Field Equipment, Chemical, etc.], Signalling Equipment, Weapons, Medical Supplies, Printing Equipment, Recreation, Furniture, Pictures, etc., Miscellaneous, Hygiene, Clothing, Personal, and Books).
--R. Stephenson
(14 December 2003)

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is uniquely qualified to write a new biography of Captain Scott. This will be the first biography of Scott by someone who has experienced the deprivations, the stress and the sheer physical pain that Scott lived through; he has suffered all but the final tragedy endured by the much maligned Scott. He is determined to put the record straight. As well as being the definitive biography of Scott, written with the full and exclusive co-operation of the Scott Estate, this book traces the way that Scott's reputation has been attacked and his achievements distorted. Written with the energy and style that have made Fiennes' other books so popular, SCOTT is one of the major publishing events of 2003.
--From the publisher's website (www.hodderheadline.co.uk).

Contents:
Maps viii
Author's Notes ix
Introduction, xiii
1. Markham's Grand Design, p 1
2. Torpedo Lieutenant Scott, p 15
3. Order out of Chaos, p 27
4. Through the Pack Ice 1901-1902, p 42
5. Nudging the Great Barrier 1902, p 52
6. Dogs, Skis and Men, p 63
7. The First Winter, p 74
8. The Southern Journey 1902-1903, p 89
9. Lost on the Plateau 1903-1904, p 110
10. A Promise Broken, p 134
11. The Race Begins 1910, p 165
12. Near Disaster 1911, p 193
13. The Worst Journey 1911, p 226
14. The Dangerous Glacier, p 262
15. The Black Flag, p 295
16. Intimations of Tragedy, p 318
17. The Greatest March Ever Made, p 339
18. The Legacy, p 378
19. The Last Word, p 405
Appendix I - Members of the Discovery Expedition, 1901-4, p 437
Appendix II - Members of the Terra Nova Expedition, 1910-13, p 440
Acknowledgements, p 444
Bibliography, p 447
Notes on Sources, p 453
Index, p 491

UPDATE: From a recent e-mail from Ran Fiennes: "We launch the US version of the book in November 2004. The publishers are Hyperion."
(5 January 2004)

SOME EARLIER MENTIONS FROM 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS':

Charles H. Lagerbom--author of 'The Fifth Man: Henry R. Bowers'--e-mails to relate that Ran Fiennes "...is currently researching material for a biography of Captain Scott."
(7 November 2002)

UPDATE: I happened to see a typescript of Ran's book at SPRI earlier this month, circulating about for expert comment. I've heard it's due out in October.
--R. Stephenson
(28 May 2003)

UPDATE: According to Jonathan Shackleton, Fiennes' Scott book will be launched at the Royal Geographical Society on 13 October. And Paul Davies e-mails to say that Ran will be speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on 18 October.
--R. Stephenson
(23 September 2003)

UPDATE: The book has now appeared. See Antarctic Book Notes for information.
--R. Stephenson
(9 November 2003)

UPDATE: I'm close to half way through the book and I'm very impressed, mainly because the author has taken a different tack from previous treatments. He says in his Introduction: "While many authors have told the story of Scott's life, no one until now has examined the impact of his death, the ways in which the world responded to this tragic story from the south." Lots of detail on the various Scott memorial services, commemorative sites, etc. [see 'A Low-Latitude Antarctic Gazetteer' elsewhere on this site].
--R. Stephenson
(14 December 2003)

Paul Davies has researched and written a very nicely done brochure or leaflet on some of Plymouth's Scott-related sites. Included are The Scott Memorial on Mount Wise; 'Outlands' the site of Scott's boyhood home; the streets nearby to Outlands named for the polar party; St Marks Church which has a carving of Scott; the Marine Biological Association; Frank Bickerton's house on Lockyer Street; British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit; Fred Dailey's grave in Ford Park Cemetery; and the collections of the Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery. There is also a short Scott biography, a Scott Timeline and some key expedition dates of the Heroic Age.
--R. Stephenson
(11 November 2003)

Frank Nugent is a modern-day polar explorer like Irish heroes Tom Crean or Shackleton. He has faced 40 foot waves in a fragile, capsized, little boat, climbed the world's highest peaks, endured feats of bravery and bold determination of which even his 'polar' forebears would have been proud. Nugent was responsible in part for the explosion of interest in Tom Crean, up to two years ago an unsung hero of polar exploration. Since then, Crean has been immortalised in the Guinness Advertisement, an award-winning one man show, a monument, and an exhibition to which 200,000 visitors have flocked to date. Not bad for a fella from Dingle!

But it would be foolish to assume that Crean and Shackleton were the only Irish people active in polar exploration. High on any list of great Polar explorers would be the names Crozier, McClintock, McClure and Shackleton. But how many know they were all Irish too? Seek the Frozen Lands unveils an array of Irish heroes, largely unknown and forgotten in modern Ireland. Some left a trail of cairns and bones as they perished in their quests, others were promoted, acclaimed for bravery or achieved scientific recognition. This is truly a story of heroism, drama and tragedy.

Frank Nugent is an experienced mountaineer, explorer and expedition leader. He was the Deputy Leader of the first successful Irish Everest Expedition in 1993, followed in the footsteps of Shackleton across South Georgia (1977) and sailed the Northwest Passage in the wake of Irish Polar explorers Crozier and McClintock in a shallow draft boat (2001). In the Spring of 2003, he and some fellow climbers climbed 15 of the world's untouched peaks. A member of the James Caird and Tom Crean Societies, he works as training manager with Fás Training and Employment Authority--Ireland. He lives in Dublin with his wife and sons.
--From a press release supplied by the publisher.

On TV extreme sports and survival challenges seem diminished, remote places accessible, rescue a phone call away. But polar explorers played for real, extraordinary men truly entering the unknown, out of contact and away for years at a time. High on any list of Polar explorers would be the names Crozier, McClintock, McClure and Shackleton. But how many know they were all Irish? Seek The Frozen Lands unveils an array of Irish heroes largely unknown in modern Ireland. With previously unpublished material and interviews with descendants this book has a cast of characters as rich as any novel.

The saga begins in the eighteenth century with Arthur Dobbs who advocated the existence of the Northwest Passage. This was followed by Edward Bransfield, who made one of the first sightings of the Antarctic in 1820 when mapping the South Shetland Islands. It continues with the search for the Northwest Passage, ongoing scientific work, the discovery of the Antarctic Iceshelf and the charting of the Ross Sea in 1841 by Ross and Crozier. The pace quickens with considerable Irish involvement in the search for Franklin, his second-in-command Crozier, and their men, by McClintock, McClure and Kellett as they found skeletons scattered across the Canadian Arctic. Their reports horrified the world. The story ends with the heroic age of Antarctic exploration and the burial of Shackleton in 1922 in South Georgia.

Many of the aforementioned names, along with Sabine, Beaufort, Keohane, Crean, Forde and McCarthy dot the maps of the frozen lands. Some left a trail of cairns and bones as they perished in their quests, others were promoted, acclaimed for bravery or achieved scientific recognition. This is truly a story of heroism, drama and tragedy.
--From a press release supplied by the publisher.

Contents:
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction, p 1
1. Eighteenth-century Exploration, p 5
2. Bransfield Sights the Antarctic Peninsula, p 13
3. Sabine and Crozier Enter the Arctic, p 25
4. Sabine, Lloyd and Beaufort Lead the Way, p 39
5. Crozier, Captain of Terror, p 51
6. The Franklin Expedition, p 69
7. McClure, McClintock and Kellett Search for Franklin, p 79
8. McClure and Investigator Search from the Pacific, p 95
9. The Belcher Expedition, p 109
10. McClintock's Voyage of the Fox, p 121
11. After the Franklin Search and the Nares North Pole Expedition, p 141
12. The Private Arctic Expeditions of Henry Gore-Booth, p 161
13. Jerome Collins and John Cole of Cork, p 167
14. Scott's Discovery Expedition, p 179
15. Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition, p 193
16. Antarctic Expedition of Terra Nova, p 205
17. Epic Voyage of the Endurance, p 229
18. Shackleton and Crean's Final Voyages, p 261
19. The Legacy of the Irish Polar Explorers, p 269
Notes & References, p 273
Glossary of Polar & Nautical Terms & Conversion Tables, p 281
Bibliography, p 283
Index, p 286

At the bottom of the world stands a dark mountain towering above the snow and ice of Antarctica. It is Mount Crean, a permanent memorial to Irishman Tom Crean. His amazing adventures in this most hostile region are among the greatest tales of hardship and survival. Antarctica is not for ordinary people but Tom was no ordinary man. His exploits began when he was fifteen, ran away from home and lied about his age to join the British navy. His next step into the unknown took him to the frozen wilderness where he spent more time than the famous Scott or Shackleton - and lived longer!
Going to the Antarctic 100 years ago was like going to Jupiter or Mars today. Explorers were cut off from civilization for two to three years, no radio or telephone contact, 1000s of miles from the nearest outpost. Temperatures plunged way below zero, winds roared to 200 mph. It was a struggle to survive. But Tom was the 'iron' man who overcame all the odds to travel on three Polar expeditions. He explored the unknown, crossed ice fields and wild oceans, courageously saved his friends from death and lived to tell the tale. Tom was an exceptional man for exceptional circumstances. Sir Edmund Hilary, the first person to climb Everest, said: 'His courage, his determination, his loyalty to his leaders and team impressed me. He was a great man.'

Michael Smith wrote the bestselling biography of Tom Crean, An Unsung Hero (The Collins Press/Headline). He was encouraged to write this edition for children by the enthusiastic response during a lecture tour of schools in Ireland. In 2002 his biography of Captain Oates, I Am Just Going Outside (The Collins Press/Spellmount), sold out in just two months. He was a leading journalist before devoting his skills to writing books.
--From a press release supplied by the publisher. Tom Crean was no ordinary man, and his chilling adventures in the Antarctic raise real goosebumps in this stirring story of survival in extraordinary conditions. He saved comrades from drowning in frozen waters, and rescued others from freezing snow, whilst following his leaders - Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton, the famous Polar explorers. Written by Crean's biographer who wrote the best-selling An Unsung Hero, The Ice Man is a boy's own story of courage, strength and determination to thrill any young reader.
--From the publisher's website (http://www.collinspress.com)

"The children's version of Tom Crean sold out within 10 days and has been reprinted."
--From recent e-mail from Michael.

Contents:
Introduction, p 6
A Farmer's Lad, p 8
A Step into the Unknown, p 13
Footprints in the Snow, p 16
Life at the Extremes, p 22
The Call of the Ice, p 26
The Dash to the Pole, p 30
Teardrops in the Snow, p 37
A Race for Life, p 41
Raw Courage, p 47
The Bravest March, p 52
Life and Death on the Ice, p 59
Ice Bound, p 62
Trapped, p 66
Cast Adrift, p 72
Launch the Boats!, p 78
A Fragile Grip on Life, p 84
An Epic Voyage, p 89
March or Die, p 98
An Historic Trek, p 103
Rescue Mission, p 113
Tom the Pole, p 117
Tom Crean--A Timeline, p 122
Useful Information, p 124
Further Reading, p 125
Index, p 126

SOME EARLIER MENTIONS FROM 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS':

During a phone conversation in early May, Michael reported that a children's version of his Crean book is due out in the autumn.
--R. Stephenson
(28 May 2003)

UPDATE: Michael e-mails to say: "I have written a children's version of the Tom Crean story, which is hitting the shops this month (September 2003). Aimed at 8-14 years old with illustrations, it is called The Iceman.
--R. Stephenson
(3 September 2003)

UPDATE: Received today from Michael more information on both The Iceman and Frank Nugent's book:

Tom Crean for Kids
The incredible Polar exploits of Tom Crean have been adapted for children in a new book, called Ice Man, written by Crean's biographer, Michael Smith. Crean was the indestructible Irishman and loyal lieutenant to Shackleton who survived three epic expeditions to the Antarctic. But he turned down a plea to sail on Quest after telling Shackleton about his marriage and declaring: "I have a long-haired pal now".
He volunteered for the Discovery expedition in 1901 and was among the last to see Scott alive near the South Pole in 1912. He received the Albert Medal, the highest award for gallantry, for saving the life of Lt Evans.
Crean was Second Officer on Endurance, who piloted the Stancomb Wills to Elephant Island in 1916 and accompanied Shackleton in the James Caird and on the forced march across South Georgia.
The book is aimed at 8-14 years olds and is illustrated with artwork from students at the National College of Art & Design in Ireland.

Ice Man - The Antarctic Adventures of Tom Crean is published by The Collins Press, priced £5.99 (E7.99). Details: www.collinspress.com

From the publisher's website:
The Ice Man - the Antarctic Adventures of Tom Crean Michael Smith. Tom Crean was no ordinary man, and his chilling adventures in the Antarctic raise real goosebumps in this stirring story of survival in extraordinary conditions. He saved comrades from drowning in frozen waters, and rescued others from freezing snow, whilst following his leaders - Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton, the famous Polar explorers. Written by Crean's biographer who wrote the best-selling An Unsung Hero, The Ice Man is a boy's own story of courage, strength and determination to thrill any young reader.
ISBN: 1-903464-44-7 Children PB 128pp 216x138mm TBC

The first of its kind, this spectacularly illustrated book is the only complete guide to the wildlife and natural history of the vast and beautiful Antarctic region.

Covering the Antarctic continent, the southern ocean, and the subantarctic islands, this guide illustrates all of the region's breeding birds and marine mammals with stunning color photographs. In addition to the color plates, it features distribution maps and up-to-date species accounts expertly detailing abundance, seasonal status, and conservation prospects. The volume also covers numerous nonbreeding species, migrants, and vagrants.

Regional chapters describe all of the subantarctic islands, in addition to most regularly visited sites in Antarctica, and are accompanied by maps of each area and photographs of each locale. These chapters present detailed information on geography, climate, geology, general ecology, and flora. They also address conservation efforts--past, present, and planned. The book concludes with practical information about visiting the area, including details on the best-available landing sites and notes on seasonal weather conditions.

This is an indispensable companion for a trip far south, as well as an informative volume for anyone interested in the Antarctic region's remarkable, occasionally strange, and frequently beautiful animals.

- Features 35 color plates and over 600 color photographs.
- Illustrates and maps the distribution of all of the region's breeding birds and marine mammals.
- Includes information on many non-breeders, migrants, and vagrants.
- Features expert text reflecting recent advances in taxonomy.
- Covers all of the subantarctic islands as well as Antarctica's regularly visited sites.
- Offers travel tips, including weather considerations and landing sites.

Hadoram Shirihai is an award-winning ornithologist and the author of The Birds of Israel, The Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds, and Sylvia Warblers (Princeton).

Endorsement: "This is an ambitious, single-volume guide to the wildlife of the Antarctic, subantarctic, and associated regions in the Southern Ocean. It is very comprehensive, with details of all of the relevant bird and mammal species likely to be encountered. It will prove invaluable for both visitors--either tourists or scientists--and those with a fascination for this region."--Keith Reid, British Antarctic Survey

Contents:
List of colour plates 6
Preface 7
Referees for this book 7
Acknowledgements 8
Background to the research work 10
Layout of the Book 11
   The Maps 12
   Abbreviations 12
Synopsis of the region 13
   The Antarctic and Subantarctic Environments: The Southern Ocean 13
   Geological History 18
   Geography and Climate 20
   Sea Environment 25
   Habitats and vegetation 29
   Avifauna 30
   Marine Mammals 33
   Conservation in the Region 36
   Checklist of Birds and Marine Mammals of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean 40
   History of Antarctic Exploration 46
Bird and marine mammal topography 53
Species Accounts
Birds
   Penguins 54
   Great albatrosses 86
   Small and medium albatrosses 107
   Sooty albatrosses, giant petrels and distinct petrels 129
   Gadfly petrels 143
   Procellaria petrels and shearwaters 158
   Blue Petrel and prions 173
   Storm-petrels and diving-petrels 184
   Cormorants and shags of the Southern Ocean 192
   Gannets 207
   Large skuas 210
   Stercorarius skuas 218
   Gulls and terns 223
   Endemic and indigenous species of Subantarctic islands in the S Indian and S Atlantic Oceans and the Falklands 237
   Endemic and indigenous non-passerines of New Zealand's Subantarctic islands 271
   Endemic and indigenous passerines of New Zealand's subantarctic islands 281
   Endemic and indigenous passerines of New Zealand's subantarctic islands 287
Marine Mammals
   Seals 294
   Cetaceans 315
Regional descriptions (with tables of breeding species)
   Subantarctic islands off South America (and Checklist of Falkland Islands birds) 369
   South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea 388
   South Atlantic Islands 405
   Subantarctic islands in the Indian Ocean 416
   Subantarctic islands south of New Zealand 434
   The Ross Sea 461
   East Antarctica 470
   Peter I Øy 475
Other Regions and Islands 476
   Islands off southern Chile and southern Argentina 476
   Tasmania Group 478
Gateways to the Antarctic: pelagic and other birds and marine mammals in southern South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand 480
   Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel and sea area south of Tierra del Fuego 480
   Seabird and whale viewing off South Africa 482
   Observing Southern Ocean seabirds and cetaceans off Australia 484
   Seabird and sea mammal viewing around New Zealand 486
Bibliography 490
Appendix 495
   Organizations and Contacts in the Region 495
   About the authors 496
Index 497

German Exploration of the Polar World is the exciting story of the generations of German polar explorers who braved the perils of the Arctic and Antarctic for themselves and their country. Such intrepid adventurers as Wilhelm Filchner, Erich von Drygalski, and Alfred Wegener are not as well known today as Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, Ernest Shackleton, Robert E. Peary, or Richard E. Byrd, but their bravery and the hardships they faced were equal to those of the more famous polar explorers.

In the half-century prior to World War II, the poles were the last blank spaces on the global map, and they exerted a tremendous pull on national imaginations. Under successive political regimes, the Germans threw themselves into the race for polar glory with an ardor that matched their better-known counterparts bearing English, American, and Norwegian flags. German polar explorers were driven, like their rivals, by a complex web of interlocking motivations. Personal fame, the romance of the unknown, and the advancement of science were important considerations, but public pressure, political and military concerns, and visions of immense, untapped wealth at the poles also spurred the explorers.

As historian David Thomas Murphy shows, Germany's repeated encounters with the polar world left an indelible impression upon the German public, government, and scientific community. Reports on the polar landscape, flora, and fauna enhanced Germany's appreciation of the global environment. Accounts of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, accurate or fantastic, permanently shaped German notions of culture and civilization. The final, failed attempt by the Nazis to extend German political power to the earth's ends revealed the limits of any country's ability to reshape the globe politically or militarily.

David Thomas Murphy is an associate professor of history and political science at Anderson University. He is the author of The Heroic Earth: Geopolitical Thought in Weimar Germany, 1918-1933.

Contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface
Weights and Measures Conversion Chart
Map of German Expeditions to Antarctica
Map of German Expeditions to the Arctic
Introduction: The Lure of the Great Deed
1. Germany Discovers the Poles
2. Persistent Dangers, Unusual Luck
3. Imperial Failure in the Antarctic
4. The Search for Polar Redemption
5. The German Image of the Polar World
6. Aryan Aurora
Epilogue: Elusive Glory
Notes [Very extensive: 30 pages]
Bibliography [Also very extensive: 22 pages]
Index

John Thomson's book on Orde Lees is now out. This marks the first appearance of any extensive portions of Orde Lees' diaries and journals. What I'm particularly interested in, though, is the biographical material before and after 'Endurance.' Once I give it a good read, I'll report back.
--R. Stephenson
(28 May 2003)

FROM THE DUSTJACKET:

"One long nightmare from beginning to end, always short of food, frequently wet, living in the dark in dirt and squalor, unwashed for months without a change of clothes, living on the most revolting foods--putrid meat and raw blubber--and always uncertain as to whether the food supply would be maintained or the shelter we lived under withstand the terrific blizzards."

The aristocracy of Antarctic exploration does not include the name of Thomas Orde Hans Lees. He came away from Shackleton's 1914 expedition with the reputation of being the least popular and most criticised of the men involved in the Endurance adventure in the Weddell Sea. Not only was he disliked simply for being himself but he was also expected to become the first victim of cannibalism if the 22 men of Elephant Island had run out of food.

Previous accounts of Shackleton's adventure have unfailingly mentioned that Orde Lees was unpopular. Though they have plundered his excellent journal for much of the detail of life on board the Endurance, on the pack ice and finally on Elephant Island, the part he played in keeping the men alive has not been recognised. His journal has--surprisingly--never been published and this book is a long overdue testament to a much misunderstood--and probably unfairly maligned--man.

After his rescue from Elephant Island Orde Lees campaigned vigorously for the use of parachutes in the newly formed Royal Air Force and he was publicly credited with being the primary advocate. Many pilots owe their lives to his faith in this new invention.

He went on the perform more service for his country in Japan and spent the final period of his life in New Zealand.

John Bell Thomson is a retired journalist now devoting his time to projects accumulated during a 50 year newspaper and newsagency career in New Zealand, Australia, Britain and East Africa, which left him no time for such indulgences. He was born in Dunedin, N.Z. in 1931, and returned to his book-writing interests in 1996. This is his third book, and the second concerning members of the Shackleton expedition to the Antarctic in 1914-16, coming after his very successful book on fellow New Zealander, Commander Frank Worsley.

John Thomson now lives in Lower Hutt, N.Z. with his wife Bala, and spends the remainder of his time reading and corresponding with their four children scattered around the world.

Introduction
1 Family Secrets
2 From China to Antarctica
3 In the beginning

THE DIARIES
Trapped: 16 January to 24 February 1915
Winter on the Ice: 25 February to 23 October 1915
The End of the Endurance: 24 October to 17 November 1915
Drifting: 18 November 1915 to 8 April 1916
By Boat to Elephant Island: 9 April to 24 April 1916
Surviving: 24 April to 25 August 1916
Rescue: 26 August to 30 August 1916

4 Of Cannibals and Things
5 Parachutes
6 Japan
7 New Zealand
8 Renee's Story
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index

EARLIER NOTICES:

From recent e-mails from John Thomson (author of the excellent Shackleton's Captain; A Biography of Frank Worsley. (see 'Antarctic Book Notes' elsewhere on this site):

"...I believe I promised to tell you about a new project. Well, it is about to arrive - a book about Thomas Orde Lees (note - no hyphen!) covering major points in an interesting and varied life full of surprises, but concentrating on his remarkable journal maintained during the Shackleton Endurance saga. A sample: OL was a member of the British Aviation Mission that taught the Imperial Japanese Navy how to run a Naval Aviation Service...you know, the mob that bombed Pearl Harbour! His earlier years (post-Shackleton) as a parachute pioneer are also fascinating, and there is fresh evidence supporting the story of a plot to kill him on Elephant Island when food stocks were exhausted...But the major portion of the book is 100,000+ words from his wonderful journal, and this tells more about the man who was casually condemned for perceived acts of cowardice and meanness, particularly on Elephant Island. His personal lifestory is contained in a 30,000+ word biography that supports the journal, and this has some really surprising information. The working title is THE ORDE LEES JOURNAL: Elephant Island and Beyond, and I imagine that will be the finished title as well. The publishers are The Erskine Press/Bluntisham Books of Norfolk, England. I'm sure this collaboration is known to you for its excellent series of Antarctic books, mainly journals and diaries. The Orde Lees story fits nicely into this range, and will be a handsome hard-back edition with all the trimmings. The actual publication date will be released soon, but I hope it will be as close as September. I'll keep you informed. One of the more interesting features is that I traced Orde Lees' daughter from his second marriage, to a Japanese woman in the early 1930s. She is Zoe Orde Lees, who is in her late 60s now and very fit. However she is also reclusive, and while she has been happy to support my work, and has supplied some astonishing photographs (though nothing new from the Endurance period), she wants to remain firmly in the background, as she values her privacy greatly. I mention her name also because as far as the Antarctic community is concerned, Zoe had simply disappeared (if indeed her existence was ever realised), and Orde Lees grand-son, Julian Ayer, presents himself as sole family survivor. Not so! You can list Zoe Orde Lees as the closest and only direct kin, but never expect her to come out of the shadows: she just won't (FYI: It took me three years to find her). Zoe has asked me to act as her shield, and of course if anyone wants to contact her for any serious purpose I will pass on addresses etc. without offering any hope that she might reply to them... You can present my e-mail address for this purpose if you wish." [bell-thomson@xtra.co.nz]

"Your notes were most interesting! I knew a lot of what was described, but OL continues to surprise me - I didn't know of the Vesuvius incident (and it is now too late for the book - pity). But there is plenty left that I had gleaned from this and that source.

As for your kind offer to post material on the webpage, yes, I'd appreciate that of course. Please use whatever you like, keeping in mind that Zoe is determined to maintain her very private existence. She is almost hysterical about this, and I must support her wishes. However the fact that she exists is also most important and she accepts that, so let us by all means break that news.

Ever since I read Lansing's book, and noted his disparaging comments about Orde Lees, I wondered about this curious who lived and died here in Wellington, NZ, where I have been for the past 30 years. I have a sister who was AGE Jones' researcher in NZ on sealer and whaler records...

I have always had great respect for the services (my father served in both World Wars), and it did not ring true with me that a lieutenant-colonel of the Royal Marines was a coward, and when I discovered that OL was promoted to that rank AFTER he had left the service following WW1, I knew there was something to hunt down.

I believe that my biography, supporting OL's own words from his journal, will balance the so-casual summation of a man few, if any, could fathom: he was indeed a man alone in that Endurance company, and there were reasons for it, and for his suspect behaviour. As for his companions, it was easier for some to criticise than it was to understand, and that became OL's burden. However he -- as will be seen -- in pen-portraits of his fellow sufferers, invariably sought to be positive and complimentary, which I took as a measure of his fundamental goodness.

UPDATE: John e-mails to report: "My last message published carried my hope that the Orde Lees work might be out before Christmas. In the event, the publishers thought it best to hold it back from the deluge of new titles competing for display, and wait until February for a decent shot at the market. So that is the scheduled time for the launch."
(29 November 2002)

Some of the photos are new to me.
--R. Stephenson

Contents
Foreword
Southward Bound 1874-1903
The Nimrod Sails 1904-1909
South Georgia 1910-1914
On the Ice December 1914-April 1916
The Voyage of the James Caird April-May 1916
Crossing the Mountains May 19-20, 1916
Elephant Island April-October 1916
Aurora 1914-1916
Quest 1917-1922
Photo Credits, Index, & Acknowledgements

Rumor has it that George Plimpton is working on a Shackleton book.
(February 2002)

UPDATE: The following e-mail arrived today from Charles Lagerbom (author of 'The Fifth Man: Henry R. Bowers'):

"In response to the posted rumour of George Plimpton working on a Shackleton biography, I'd like to report that I just received a copy. Published by DK Publishing, the book is part of the A&E Biography series and not surprisingly entitled: Ernest Shackleton. It is profusely illustrated with Shackleton photos and also chockfull of polar trivia snapshots on such topics as scurvy, the Ross Ice Shelf, Mt Erebus, the polar winter, etc. Also included are little sidebars (again lavishly illustrated) on most of the polar personalities (Captain Cook, Amundsen, Frederick Cook, Byrd, Fuchs + Hillary, etc). Much like the television biography programs, the book also makes use of timeline dates such as February 1902 (while Shackleton was onboard Discovery and settling in near Hut Point peninsula) yellow fever in Cuba was being fought by US Army physicians Walter Reed and James Carroll. Interspersed through the Shackleton biography is a series of journal entries of Plimpton's own excursion to the south and his impressions of the region and its explorers. Slickly produced, the book is easy to read and quite entertaining, but no real new depths are plumbed regarding Sir Ernest and his exploits."

"Produced by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society to celebrate the achievements of the Scottish oceanographer and polar explorer William Speirs Bruce and to mark the centenary of the voyage of S.Y. Scotia, the research ship of Bruce's Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04."

"Scotland and the Antarctic has been produced as a Source Book for Secondary Schools, and for the General Reader. . . . This book is copyright free for education use in schools and colleges. The resource material includes:- Antarctic exploration, the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic exploration, the voyage of the Scotia, the contribution of William Speirs Bruce to the geographical exploration of the Antarctic--its geology, weather, climate, oceanography, botany, biology and the influence of the Antarctic on present day changes in the world environment."

Contents
Section 1

1. Contents
2. Introduction
3. Scotland and the Antarctic
4. Comparison of Arctic and Antarctic
6. Arctic Exploration - the North West Passage
9. The Nature of Antarctica

Section 2

15. Section 2a - Antarctic Exploration
25. Section 2b - Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen

25. Scott's Discovery Expedition
30. Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition
34. Amundsen Fram Expedition
39. Scott's Terra Nova Expedition
43. Shackleton's Endurance Expedition

Section 3 William Speirs Bruce

49. Section 3a - Early Exploration

49. William Speirs Bruce
50. Voyage of the Balaena
53. Ben Nevis Observatory
55. Jackson - Harmsworth Expedition
56. Blencathra Expedition
57. Princess Alice Expedition

58. Section 3b - Scotia Expedition

58. The Voyage of the Scotia
61. The Voyage South
64. South Orkney Islands
65. Autumn
67. Winter
68. Spring
71. To Buenos Aires
73. Second Cruise in the Weddell Sea
77. Welcome Home

80. Section 3c - After S.N.A.E. (Scottish National Antarctic Expedition)

80. The Harvest of Scotia
81. Plans for a second Antarctic Expedition
83. Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory
84. Prince Charles Foreland & Spitsbergen
86. The Death of Bruce
87. Scotia
88. Polar Explorers and Bruce

Section 4 - The Legacy of Bruce

89. Sealing, whaling, and fishing
93. Meteorology
94. Oceanography
95. The Earth's Magnetism
97. Politics in the Antarctic
97. The Antarctic Treaty
98. War in the South
100. The British Antarctic Survey
103. Environmental Problems
103. Pollution in the Antarctic
104. The Ozone layers
105. Lake Vostok
106. Tourism
107. Epilogue

Appendices

108. The Antarctic Ships [useful chart of ships from Cook's Endeavor to the Aurora, giving type, tonnage, description]
109. Erebus and Terror
110. South Pole - Position
111. Geikie and Watson
112. Emperor Penguin
112. Buenos Aires
113. Log of Scotia
114. Troon Harbour
114. World History 1890 - 1920
115. Bibliography
116. Index
119. Scotia IV [the present fisheries research ship]
119. Acknowledgements

Special Items

6. John Barrow / Clements Markham
7. The Fate of Franklin
34. Diesel Engines
51. Scurvy
56. Fridtjof Nansen
78. Voyage of Uruguay. 81. Aberdeen University
82. Admiralty Sailing Directions
82. Karluk Expedition
83. Musée Océanographique
83. Edinburgh Zoo
90. Coal gas
91. Salvesens of Leith
92. Web of Life
94. Sir John Murray
106. Port Lockroy

Peter Speak's book on Bruce appears during the centenary of the Scotia Expedition and coincides with an exhibition at Edinburgh's Royal Museum--The First Polar Hero: William Speirs Bruce--which runs through 7 June 2003 (see under 'Upcoming and Current Events' elsewhere on this site for more information). Speak's effort is the first biographical treatment since Rudmose Brown's A Naturalist at the Poles, which appeared in 1923, not long after Bruce's death.

Contents:
Acknowledgements
Foreword (by Harry G.R. King, former Librarian, SPRI)
Introduction
1. The Early Years
2. The Dundee Expedition
3. The Ben Nevis Interlude
4. Exploring the Arctic
5. Family Life
6. Preparations for a Scottish Expedition
7. The Scotia Expedition
8. The Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory
9. The Scottish Spitsbergen Syndicate
10. Final Endeavors
11. The Last Years
Appendix I. Selected Works by William Speirs Bruce
Appendix II. Chronology of Voyages
Appendix III. Awards and Prizes
General Index
Index of Ships

William Speirs Bruce, the polar naturalist and fervent Scottish nationalist, 'was a man who had more than a little of the stuff that heroes are made of, a man who did great things with a quiet will and a gentle heart, who rarely got that public recognition which was the due of his achievements'. Born in London, Bruce elected to live and work in Scotland, immersing himself in the growing cultural renascence that served ironically to distance him from influential London-based scientific societies. Despite the unqualified success of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902-04) and his remarkable scientific work in polar regions, Bruce was destined to remain in the shadow of the more illustrious explorers of the 'Heroic Age', Scott and Shackleton, and his commitment to science over sensationalism served only to deny him his rightful place in polar history. This book aims to bring the name of William Speirs Bruce to the fore once again and to examine the nature of Scotland's forgotten hero.

--R. Stephenson
(6 April 2003)

An elaborately produced special edition of Antarctic photographs. Not for the usual book buyer. An interview with the Keoughs, with some excerpts from the text, may be found in the current issue of 'The Seventh Continent' (Issue no. 13, Spring 2003), the newsletter of the Montreal Antarctic Society.

--R. Stephenson
(6 April 2003)

"South Georgia has been an important gateway to the Continent for many of the early Antarctic expeditions but few have spent much time there. The early literature is mostly about science or whaling with little on the island itself. Whilst the sealers and whalers had explored the coast during the early part of the twentieth century, little was known of the interior or of the natural history of the island. Ludwig Kohl-Larsen spent the summer of 1927-8 camping on the island with his wife and a photographer, making the first film of the island and collecting a wide range of biological specimens. His account of this early and unusual adventure was published in German but has remained largely unknown and inaccessible until now."
--From the dustjacket.

Contents:
List of Figures and Maps
Introduction by D.W.H. Walton
Select Bibliography of Books by Kohl-Larsen
Preface
1. To the Far South
2. Grytviken, the Wild West in the South
3. Our First Camp at Coal Harbour
4. In the Elephant Seal Colony
5. The Surrounding Landscape
6. Photography and Technology
7. The First Sledge Trip
8. The Final Days at Coal Harbour
9. Storms, Glaciers and Penguins at Bay of Isles
10. With the King Penguins on Lucas Glacier
11. Further Difficulties
12. Waiting for a Ship
13. Back with the Whalers at Grytviken
14. Hunting the Whale
15. Whales and Whalers
16. Our Trip Inland
17. Fossils, Penguins and Lakes
18. Lonely Annenkov Island is Our Next Goal!
19. Camp Life on Annenkov Island
20. Around the Entire Island with the Sealers Again
21. Farewell to Glaciers and King Penguins
22. Fresh Blows the Wind for Home!
Appendix. Maps

SOME EARLIER MENTIONS FROM 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS':

From a recent e-mail from David Walton (Bluntisham Books):

"I thought I should tell you about two other titles in production . . . South Georgia: Gateway to Antarctica by Ludwig Kohl-Larsen is due out this autumn. The account in German of the private expedition to South Georgia in 1929 was translated by Bill Barr. The expedition explored parts of the island, collected natural history specimens and made the first film of South Georgia. Kohl-Larsen was originally the doctor on Otto Nordenskjöld's Swedish Antarctic Expedition but after an appendicitis was not fit to continue beyond South Georgia. Eventually he made it back there with his wife and a camera man.

An excellent effort with some new material particularly about Byrd's early life and Virginia roots.

Contents:
From the Editor
Acknowledgments, by Warren R. Hofstra
Introduction, by Warren R. Hofstra
Richard E. Byrd's First Antarctic Expedition, by Eugene Rodgers
Exploring a Secret Land: The Literary and Technological Legacies of Richard E. Byrd, by Lisle A. Rose
Richard Byrd, Polar Exploration and the Media, by Robert N. Matuozzi
Historical Archaeology and the Byrd Legacy: The United States Antarctic Service Expedition, 1939-41, by Noel D. Broadbent and Lisle A. Rose

My copy of Beekman Pool's long-awaited biography of his friend Lincoln Ellsworth arrived today. This is the first full-length biography of the American arctic and antarctic explorer. (Ellsworth's autobiography, Beyond Horizons, appeared in 1938. He died in 1951.) The bibliography is very extensive and should prove useful. There are numerous black and white photo illustrations, a few familiar but most either not previously published or uncommon.

From the bookjacket:

"Polar Extremes reveals the full story of Lincoln Ellsworth's triumphs in his quest for unknown land, first in the Arctic, then in Antarctica. Moving to and from the Poles, this saga is filled with colorful anecdotes and vivid quotations that recount the hero's tales of polar flights, crash landings, narrow escapes, and eventual triumphs. As impossible at it seems today, Ellsworth's 1926 attempt to fly across the North Pole with Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile was made in a dirigible. In 1935, he flew in his own custom-made plane over Antarctica and discovered the mountain range now called the Ellsworths.

A meticulously researched history and an adventure story fraught with life and death drama, the book is also a rich biographical portrait. Beekman Pool's sweeping view of twentieth-century polar exploration by air and sea is a story of daring, courage, and camaraderie, but also of the conflict, intrigue, and cunning that bedeviled polar explorers driven to be "the first." As Pool reveals the more intimate and personal side of Ellsworth's ambitious life, we understand the title Polar Extremes as a metaphor, suggesting the stark contrasts that define the passionate, but essentially lonely hero. For all his competitive zeal in traveling across forbidding ice, Ellsworth also sought nature's beauty far away from his father's world of finance and leisure.

An exciting book for any reader in search of adventure, Polar Extremes is also a valuable reference for historians, scholars, and polar exploration buffs seeking a well-documented history."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the book) "Although a graduate of Harvard and Columbia Law School, Beekman Pool has always been more at home in the wilderness than in city streets. While still in college, he met Lincoln Ellsworth, whose approach to life was much like his. Although a generation separated them, they became close friends, journeying together up the wildest untouched river of northern Labrador. Pool has been a traveler in both Polar worlds, and a writer and lecturer on the life and art of the Canadian Inuit. Until his death in 1951, Ellsworth remained his friend and fellow enthusiast of the world of ice and snow. In World War II, Beekman Pool served at an 8th Army bomber base in England, both as service pilot and intelligence officer. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in New Hampshire with their dog, Lincoln."

A great effort and well worth the wait.
--R. Stephenson
(19 November 2002)

NOTE: A review appears on page 11 of the Spring-Summer 2003 issue of The Polar Times.
(2 September 2003)

I just received a copy from Jonathan during his visit to Boston 13-16 November. (He was there to speak to the Harvard Travellers Club at its 100th Anniversary dinner on the 15th. Sir Ernest and his son, Edward, both spoke to the Club so Jonathan was carrying on the family tradition.)

The book is so new--apparently it's not even in the shops yet--that the publisher's website doesn't even include it. Unclear what the price is as it's not noted on the dustjacket.

It's a very nicely produced volume, well-illustrated with lots of material never published before. Some pluses: Very good end-paper maps showing the route and highpoints of each of Shackleton's four Antarctic expeditions. A Shackleton family tree starting with Roger Shackleton of Yorkshire (d. 1597) and coming forward to the present generation of direct descendants. A comprehensive two-page annotated Shackleton bibliography.

From the bookjacket:

"EIGHTY YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, the legend of Ernest Shackleton and the extraordinary story of the Endurance South Pole expedition still hold a compelling grip on the public imagination. Trapped in drifting polar pack ice, Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival against all the odds. When the Endurance was finally crushed, they were stranded on ice-floes for more than a year before reaching Elephant Island in April 1916. From there Shackleton and his five men embarked on the most remarkable rescue mission in maritime history, sailing to South Georgia across eight hundred miles of the world's roughest seas in a small open boat.

Despite failing to realize his dream of reaching the South Pole, Shackleton's story lives on because of his unique qualities of leadership and the fact that all his men survived. This compelling narrative reveals the profound influence of Shackleton's Irish and Quaker roots, offering a vivid portrait of a man whose ambition was tempered by his flawed humanity and egalitarianism. Here too are the untold stories of Shackleton's upbringing in Kildare; his time in the Merchant Navy; his 1901 voyage on the Discovery with Scott; his 1907 Nimrod expedition; his marriage and love affairs; his life as public figure and politician; and the haunting story of his final, fatal expedition on the Quest.

Drawing on family records, diaries and letters--and hitherto unpublished photographs and archive material--this mesmerizing biography takes us beyond the myth to Shackleton the man, for whom 'Optimism is true moral courage,' and whose greatest triumph was that of life over death.

Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica, is lavishly illustrated with over a hundred photographs, maps and engravings, some of them appearing in print for the first time."

JONATHAN SHACKLETON, Antarctic specialist and cousin of the explorer, is a leading expert on the life and achievements of Ernest Shackleton. He has voyaged to Antarctica on many occasions, as a guide and lecturer. He gardens and lives with his family in Co. Cavan.

JOHN MacKENNA is a Kildare-born, award-winning short-story writer, novelist, biographer and broadcaster. He is author of The Fallen and other stories, Clare, A Year of Our Lives, The Last Fine Summer, The Occasional Optimist, The Lost Village and A Haunted Heart.